


First We'll Take Manhattan

by candygramme, spoonlessone (mistress_mary)



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 12:38:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 35,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19376869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candygramme/pseuds/candygramme, https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistress_mary/pseuds/spoonlessone
Summary: Jensen is a fashion designer looking for a model to be the ‘face’ of his line. Enter Jared, an aspiring Broadway actor who hasn't ever modeled, but Jensen believes he's perfect for the part. Jared has no idea what he's getting into.  There's glitz and drama.  There's the excitement he craves, but there's also heartbreak and misery lurking just under the surface.In the rush to get everything ready for fashion week, things get complicated. Jared joins Adrianne Palicki and Aisha Taylor, his other models, and Jensen, along with his staff, get busy putting outfits together for him.Warnings:Show level violence, Minor character death





	First We'll Take Manhattan

Central Park in January was still almost deserted. An occasional jogger would pound along the trail, feet beating rhythm on the crushed gravel of the track as they ran. There was still snow in patches on the grass and in the trees, but for the most part there was little color to be seen in a muted landscape of greys and browns, trees pointing black fingers up towards the leaden sky.

The young man dancing through the grass was an anomaly. He was altogether too colorful, too energetic and in fact he seemed too full of life for the drizzly day. He wore a grey beanie on his head, but that was the only thing about him that was grey. The tartan scarf he wore around his neck was in the scarlets, greens and blues of the Royal Stuart, and his jacket was a matching red that dared the drab winter day to mute it. He wore ripped, faded blue jeans, heavy, scuffed work boots, and he leapt and twirled along the grass beside the lake as lightly as if those boots had some gravity canceling device built into their soles.

He was long and lean and graceful, and the smile he wore was enough to put the wintry sunlight to shame. Turning to cross over the Gothic Bridge and head back towards West 96th and from there, back to Broadway, the young man wound up his impromptu celebration with a pirouette and a bow to the silent, dripping woods, before making his way out of the park.

Pulling out his phone, he set it to dial and when the connection was made, he didn't wait to announce himself, he merely crowed, "I got it!"

~*~ ~*~

Jared Padalecki had always been a performer. He'd always won the good parts in school productions, and when his sister entered him into a contest to be a presenter at some youth awards show, he'd won. He'd never really considered the movies as a way to make his name, though. He'd always dreamed of performing on stage in front of an audience. He wanted to hear the way the audience responded to him, to get the interaction going between himself and the people he was performing for. In all, one could say he was the slave to his need for instant gratification, or at least that's what his sister told him.

_"You want everything right now, Jay. You need to be able to learn patience, so you can spread things out and let the excitement build."_

_"Yeah, that's just not how I roll," he'd responded._

And now, here he was. Three days into New York City, having kicked off the dust of Texas, with a part in a genuine Broadway musical.

It was only a small part, of course, but it was bound to lead to better things, because the gorgeous Matt Bomer was the lead, and people would flock to see it. He was going to be a star.

In the meantime, after three nights sleeping in his rusty old van, he thought it would be good to see if he could find somewhere more weatherproof to lay his head.

It didn't take long for Jared to get back to the theater, where he took his seat to wait for his call. Matt was on the stage, singing to his co-star, who was smiling flirtatiously at him, as per the script. He grinned to himself as he watched, knowing that her girlfriend was sitting in the wings, waiting to prompt the actors whenever necessary.

He couldn't wait to take part in his first scene with Matt. His sister Megan had been so excited when he'd gotten the call from Matt, and now here he was, awaiting his first cue to go onto a Broadway stage and start making a name for himself.

Five minutes later, he was standing with Matt and the director, blocking his first scene. 

"Okay, Padalecki, when Matt comes out of the jewelry store with the ring, which will be here, you'll come from around the corner, and head towards him as he walks up to center stage." 

Jared nodded. "Got it."

"You're going to demand Matt's valuables, and when he protests, you'll knock him down and take the engagement ring." The director made a note on his clipboard. "You'll make your exit speech from the stairs before exiting through the audience and out through the back of the house, okay?" 

Jared wrote his directions onto his script as Matt asked a couple of questions about the fight, and then they prepared to block out the fight, moving in slow motion as they choreographed it until the director signaled that he was happy with it. 

Rehearsal was as heady as a drug to Jared. Just being there in the theater was a rush for him, and as the day came to an end, Matt came over to find out where he was staying, smirking a little as he suggested that he could probably use a shower. 

"I know you've been on the road for the last few days, but if we're gonna be wrestling, you need to be — how shall I put this? — less aromatic."

"I... uh, I don't actually have anywhere to stay yet. Was kind of wondering if there were showers in the theater." Jared felt the tide of blood rise up his neck to stain his face as he spoke, and Matt laughed. 

"Yeah, idiot! Only you would come thousands of miles without having anywhere to stay."

"What can I say? I'm a spontaneous kind of guy. Besides, I spent all my money on flying up here for the auditions." Jared shrugged. "Just have to work things out somehow."

Sighing, Matt put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on. I guess you'll have to come and meet my couch. I think it's long enough. It'll do, at least until you get paid."

The look Jared gave him at his words was full of emotion. Things would work out for him; he could tell and if he executed a neat pirouette as he followed Matt out through backstage to make their way to Matt's car, there was nobody to see. He could hardly wait for show to open on Thursday. He was going to be a star; he just knew it!

~*~ ~*~

“Why are we going to the theater again?” Jensen groused as he fitted understated black pearl cufflinks onto his immaculately tailored cuff.

“You know why,” Danneel answered absently. She stepped into the open doorway and counted the familiar points one by one on her fingers. “It’s the perfect place for you and your designs to be seen without actually having to engage with people. I’ve been dying for an event where I can wear this fabulous dress. The absolute _best_ Scotch will be at the after-party. And lastly, you promised Lin you’d be there at the opening of his new play.”

Jensen sighed. He knew all the arguments, and actually agreed with them. He just didn’t enjoy the schmoozing that was an unavoidable part of promoting his brand. And he fully expected this particular party to be especially tedious. 

“You know Matt’d be the perfect face for your line.” Danneel called from her room across the hall. As usual, she cut straight to the heart of his current grumpy mood. “He’s gorgeous, available, and his style would complement yours perfectly.”

“You’re right, of course,” Jensen agreed. He couldn’t disagree with any of that. “Visually, it would be stunning. I don’t know … He’s just … “

“Perfect?” Danneel interrupted his fumbling attempts to articulate his objection. This wasn’t new, by any means. They’d been having this same conversation several times a day for weeks. This edition didn’t seem to be adding anything new. She appeared back in the doorway, turning her back to him and lifting her hair. “Can you zip me?” 

“Of course he’s perfect,” Jensen grumbled as he zipped her dress, admiring the clean lines and cream silk damask. It was going to look stunning next to his classically cut black on black suit. This really was the perfect event to give everyone their first glimpse of his new line. “Almost too perfect, I guess. There’s no warmth in his connection to the designs. He’s just wearing them. It looks good and all, but it’s … it’s separate. The diva Matt Bomer here and the ensemble there. Both exquisite, but not synergistic.” 

“You’re the _artiste_ ,” Danneel returned breezily. “And for the record, I agree with you. It’s just that until you choose someone, I can’t go ahead with the promotional materials. And in order to have those finalized in time for Fashion Week, I need to book the photographer. Unless you want to do it?” 

“You know I don’t,” Jensen said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at her teasing. She knew how much he hated the pretentious airs other designers put on. The rest of her comment was something they’d already debated repeatedly. He didn’t feel the need to rehash his responses. She already knew that while his clothing might be infinitely more comfortable — not to mention far less tacky — than what he’d been forced to wear when he first came to New York, that didn’t mean he wanted to be his own primary model. And he certainly didn’t have time for that. But his brain suddenly tripped up when he heard a new phrase mixed in with her familiar points. “Wait, you actually agree with me?”

“Always have, love,” she answered, patting his cheek fondly. “We just haven’t found Mr. Perfect yet, and we’re out of time.” 

“I know we are.” Jensen sighed, and suddenly decided he might as well bite the bullet sooner, rather than later. Nothing was changing. “I’ll tell Matt at the party tonight.” 

“Wait, what?” Danneel’s surprise was clear in her voice. “All I had to do was admit you were right, and we could’ve settled this a week ago?” 

“Apparently,” Jensen answered drily. None of his misgivings were allayed, but Danneel was right. They did need to make a decision. “I guess I’m just stubborn.” 

“No. You just care about getting this right.” Danneel handed her necklace to Jensen, then turned her back and lifted her hair again. 

“No more than you do,” Jensen admitted as he fastened the clasp. “I just need to remember that you have as much riding on this as I do.” 

“It’s your name on the on the door,” Danneel reminded him. 

“And you gave up your career at Greg Lauren to get this off the ground.” He’d never forget how lost he’d felt when he was first trying to navigate the business. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. Seriously, it’s as much your company as mine.” 

“Whatever,” Danneel brushed off his compliments like she always did and glanced at her watch. “Are we ready? The car will be here any minute.” 

Unsurprisingly, the doorman chose just that moment to ring, letting them know that their limousine had arrived. He helped Danneel with her wrap and then held the door for her, locking it behind them. “See? What would I do without you?”

~*~ ~*~

Standing in the wings, waiting for his cue, Jared could feel what appeared to be wild animals dancing flamenco in the pit of his stomach. This was it. This was the start of his acting career, he was sure of it.

Matt appeared at his side looking cool and confident. Jared wondered if he felt nervous. He certainly didn't look it. The other man nudged him and gave him a smile as he got into position for his cue. "Cheer up, Jay. You look terrified. You nervous or something?"

"Terrified," whispered Jared. "There are butterflies with lead boots tap dancing in my gut right now. Don't you get nervous?"

Matt chuckled. "A little bit, I guess. You'll get used to it soon enough." 

The chorus was finishing their number and began streaming off the stage as their song came to an end.

"Okay, kiddo, here I go. Break a leg." And with that, Matt moved through to the place where the door to the jewelers was located, pushing it open on cue and sauntering out onto the stage to sing about the engagement ring that he'd bought for the girl of his dreams.

Jared sighed, then straightened his shoulders, felt surreptitiously to make sure his fly was fastened and got himself in position to go and rob him of his purchase.

~*~ ~*~

"Hey, Jay?" The soft voice filtered through the chatter from the guys from the chorus to where Jared was finishing removing his make-up. Looking around, he spotted Felicia, one of the girls from the chorus peeking around the door. "Hey," she called again. "You coming to the after-party?"

'After-party?" Jared turned to look at her, confused. "Don't they save that until the show closes?"

"Silly," she said. "You really are the new boy, aren't you? We go to the party, and then when the papers come out at midnight, we read the reviews. That pretty well tells us whether we're gonna run and run, or whether we'll be closing in a couple of weeks."

"Well, we had a full house, doesn't that count for something?" He reached for his make-up case and began packing everything away, snapping the lid with a flourish once it was neatly stowed. "I guess I should wait for Matt," he said. Most of the others had left by now, and he looked around to see if Matt was still there.

"Oh, Matt already left. He was with Mr. Miranda and another couple. The guy was seriously hot. You should have seen him. I think I'm in love!" She twirled as she was speaking, and Jared laughed. 

"I guess I'll see the mystery couple in a few minutes. Where is this party anyway?" He rose to his feet at last and reached for his jacket. "Is it far?"

"Not really. Just a couple of blocks. Come on. I'll buy you a drink." Grabbing his hand, she pulled him through the door and along the corridor to the backstage exit.

~*~ ~*~

The party was buzzing when the two of them finally arrived. Everybody seemed upbeat. Several of the cast were involved in an impromptu sing-along, substituting filthy lyrics for the real ones. Elsewhere, there were little groups of people chatting and laughing. Several couples were gyrating on the small dance floor, and Jared could see Matt leaning on the bar, talking to the couple Felicia had mentioned. She was right. The man was hot, in fact, he was the most beautiful man Jared had ever seen. He thought he recognized the lady who was with him, but couldn't think where he'd seen her. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned towards the dance floor where Felicia was trying to entice one of the other guys from the chorus onto the floor.

"Come on, girl. The night is young," he said, twirling her around and then beginning to usher her onto the tiny dance floor. They danced for a while. Jared was a good dancer, and Felicia was a member of the chorus, so by the time they came off the floor, they were both red faced and sweating from their exertions.

Osric, the young man Felicia had been trying to coerce onto the floor when they first came in came over with a couple of beers for them and told them that one of the producers had bought a round for them all. Jared took his gratefully and held it up to his forehead, allowing the delightfully cold bottle to cool him down, then raised it in a silent thank you to the producer.

Throwing his head back, he held the bottle to his lips and chugged, unaware of the attention he appeared to have caught over by the bar. It was Osric who elbowed him and indicated the pair that were standing, talking to Matt. "Looks like you've got a fan over there, he muttered. "She's fucking hot. I wouldn't mind being her toy boy!"

"Language, language," smirked Jared, draining his bottle. "Besides, I don't play on that side. She's all yours."

"Well, don't look now. She's coming over." Osric elbowed him. "I think you might have to fight her off, man." 

Jared turned toward where the woman was making her way over to their little corner, and his eyes widened. She was wearing a cream silk brocade cheongsam style dress that seemed to make her red hair pop, along with extremely high heeled gold slippers. There were diamond drops glittering in her ears, and Jared almost wished at that moment that he wasn't gay. 

As she drew up beside the three of them, she flashed them a grin. "Sorry to interrupt, guys. I know how hard you work, but I wonder if I can borrow Jared for a moment." As Jared's eyes widened, she giggled. "It's okay. I don't read minds, but Matt told us your name. My companion would like to talk with you for a moment or two. Would you mind coming over for a quick word?"

For a moment, Jared was speechless, but then nodded and followed her across the room to the bar. The really hot guy wanted to speak with him. That made the butterflies that appeared to have taken up residence in his belly start up all over again.

"Hey, Jay." Matt handed him another beer, and indicated Mr. Hot Guy. "My friend Jensen here would like a moment of your time. Can't imagine why, but here you go."

Mr. Hot Guy — Jensen — smiled, his eyes crinkling, and held out his hand. "Hello, Jared. You won't believe how happy I am to meet you. Tell me, how tall are you?"

Of all the things Jared had though he might hear, that most definitely didn't fit the bill. "Uh," he stammered. "6'4", maybe 6'5", he said. Green eyes fringed with thick, dark lashes traveled from his head to his feet, appraising, and then back up to his face again.

"It's okay. He's not a white slaver or anything," said Danneel. "Tell us, Jared, have you ever modeled?"

~*~ ~*~

Jensen wasn’t sure whether he should kick Danneel or kiss her. Or maybe he should just kick himself after stammering ‘Hey, how tall are you?’ as soon as they were introduced. He didn’t think he’d been staring as Jared had sat drinking with his friends, but clearly Danneel had noticed his interest. He’d been trying to work out how to tell Matt his decision without betraying his distinct lack of enthusiasm with the choice when he caught sight of Jared dancing with a cute redhead that he’d seen at several of Lin’s shows. Suddenly, offering Matt the opportunity to be the new face of his line had been the last thing on his mind.

“Mr. Perfect?” Danneel had whispered to him. _He_ might not have been thinking about their need for a model, but Danneel was always thinking. He didn’t really want the guy to _work_ for them. He just wanted to get to know him, without the awkwardness being his employer would bring. But Danneel had been right; he’d be perfect. He could just imagine what his designs would look like on that frame. But no, he wanted to be friends, and possibly more. He’d shaken his head at Danneel distractedly, but she was already asking Matt about the new face performing in the play. 

Matt had seemed a little annoyed at first, probably because he’d been trying to monopolize all of Jensen’s attention, as usual. But he’d admitted that he’d known Jared for years, that they were from the same circles in Texas, and that the young aspiring actor was actually staying with him until he found something else. Jensen had been racking his brain for a reason to give Matt as to why he wanted to talk to Jared and/or why he might prefer Jared to be the face of his line. But Danneel had just marched over and dragged the gorgeous brunet back to talk to him. And Jensen, of course, had panicked as usual.

Danneel had stepped in and turned his awkward babbling into something that made sense, and had actually even given Jensen some semblance of an excuse to offer Matt to explain his preference for Jared to be the primary model for his line. Jared’s voice interrupted his reverie. 

“Huh?” Jared stammered and blushed adorably, understandably confused by the abrupt turn of the conversation. “A model? No…” 

“Jensen here is a fabulous designer, and he thinks you’d be the perfect face for his line.” Danneel interrupted his babbling smoothly. Jensen hadn’t actually said any of that, but Danneel had always been good at reading him and he didn’t mind her speaking for him.

“I’ve never … I’d never even thought of doing anything like that.” 

“We have the perfect person to help you learn,” Danneel offered. “He taught Jensen all he knows about modeling, and when he started his line, we just had to bring Mark on. He has the perfect eye and does exquisite final tailoring. He’ll show you how to walk to present the designs at their best.” 

“Really, I’m flattered. It’s just all a bit fast,” Jared said, glancing at Jensen. Was that a different sort of interest Jensen could see in Jared's eyes? Or was it wishful thinking on his part? Jared shrugged and continued, “I came to the Big Apple to star on Broadway, and now I’m in my first show. But this sounds like a great opportunity.” 

“Take your time,” Jensen said, ignoring Danneel’s elbow in his side. He knew they didn’t have any time to waste, but he wasn’t going to push Jared into anything. “You can do both if you like. Or maybe just give this a try and see? It might be another way to get your name and face out there.” 

“Don’t you need more of a commitment than that?” Jared asked. 

“For the right person …” Jensen started. 

“Fashion Week is next month,” Danneel interrupted. And of course, she was right. They would need at least some commitment so they could get all the materials printed. “We’d want you to at least commit to that.” 

“Can I think about it?” Jared asked. 

“Of course,” Jensen answered, hoping he didn’t sound too eager. 

“Just please let us know by Monday so I can get started on the promotion,” Danneel said, giving Jensen a look that he was all too familiar with. There would be hell to pay if he didn’t let her at least set some guidelines. Which was only fair since she had to get everything coordinated and arranged. “We’d love to have you, but we do have some time constraints.” 

It wasn’t until that moment that Jensen thought about Matt. Jensen looked around, wondering where the other man had gotten off to. He eventually spotted Matt sitting further along the bar, nursing a drink and glowering at their little group. He didn’t look happy, but from what Jensen knew, Matt wasn’t spiteful. Hopefully they hadn’t messed up Jared’s living situation. 

Jared followed Jensen’s gaze, narrowing his eyes when he saw the look on Matt’s face. “I better go see what’s up with Matt. This is supposed to be his night, his party, and it doesn’t look like he’s enjoying himself. Nice to meet you, Jensen, Danneel.” 

Jared got the attention of a few other actors, and they all descended on Matt, clearly determined to cheer him up and make him the center of the party. Jensen watched him go with bemusement. Looks like that, and a nice guy as well. The more Jensen learned about Jared, the more intrigued he felt. 

Danneel nudged him, drawing his attention away from the celebratory actors. “Maybe he is Mr. Perfect. I guess we’ll see. But it’s obvious you’re not going to retain a model tonight, and my feet are killing me. Can we get out of here?” 

“Of course,” Jensen answered, suddenly remembering the shoes that Danneel had been dealing with for the last several hours. “Let’s get you home and off your feet.”

~*~ ~*~

The reviews were out very shortly after Jensen and Danneel had left the party, and everyone crowded around the laptop someone had thought to bring to find out if they were a hit or a flop. It seemed that nearly all the critics had loved the show, and Matt had been singled out in review after review for his beautiful voice. As the party began to wind down, Matt seemed to be in a much better mood, and offered Jared a ride home.

The ride home was spent discussing the way the opening night had gone and gloating about the reviews. Jared hadn't been mentioned by name, nor had he expected to be, but there had been so many tributes to Matt that it seemed inevitable that the show would run for a long while.

They were almost at the apartment before Matt suddenly said, "You really should take that offer from Ackles."

Jared turned towards him, a frown on his face. "Is it legit? It was weird in the middle of a party to have something like that sprung on me. I got a little flustered and couldn't think what to even ask. Now I'm here, and it's too late, because I didn't even get their card or anything."

"Not to worry, kiddo." Matt pushed the button on the door opener and swung his car into the underground parking garage. "I can put you in touch with Jensen. I've known him for a while, in fact, I really thought he was going to offer me the job."

"Oh, no! Matt, I'm so sorry." Jared suddenly realized exactly why Matt had looked so down at the party. "I'll tell him I can't do it, okay?"

"Kid, you have to toughen up if you want to be successful in showbusiness." Matt rolled his eyes. "Jensen wants you, not me. First lesson in the biz is that you take it. Jobs like that don't come along every day."

Going over to the bar in the corner of the living room. Matt poured them both a nightcap and then began shuffling through a bowl that contained a whole bunch of business cards. "Here it is." He held out the drink and the card to Jared. "Jensen hasn't ever shown in New York before, and he isn't well known in the trade yet, but if I know him, he's going to knock 'em dead, so you need to get on board right now. Trust me, it'll get you known faster than a bit part in a musical, Broadway or no."

Jared studied the card Matt had given him. The design was simple. The card itself was a dark grey, and there was only the name and a phone number in embossed silver on it. "House of Ackles," he read. "Thank you again, Matt. I'll take your advice and give them a call in the morning. I guess I owe you yet another one. I'll never be able to pay you back."

~*~ ~*~

The morning dawned grey and windy. Looking out of the window as he inhaled his first cup of coffee, Jared could see the wind whipping the trees back and forth and sending an old newspaper flying up into the air to wrap around the grille of a passing car. Shivering at the thought of going out, he finally pulled out his phone and went over to the card he'd been avoiding for the past hour.

"House of Ackles." The voice was female. 

"Uh, hello. Could I please speak to Jensen?"

"May I tell him who's calling please?" Jared bit his lip. Supposing Jensen forgot about him. He'd feel really stupid. Matt was right. He really wasn't cut out for this business. "Hello?"

"Uh..." Jared swallowed. "My name is Jared Padalecki, and I met Jensen last night, and he wanted me to..."

There was a shriek on the other end of the line, and Jared frowned. That didn't sound good. "Hi, Jared. It's Danneel. Are you going to do it? Say yes. You need to say yes right now!"

"Ummm okay. Yes." Jared heaved a sigh of relief. He wasn't going to have to call 911 because somebody had been murdered, and he was still wanted for this insane job.

"That's fantastic!" Danneel sounded happy at least. "Where are you? I'll come pick you up, okay. We need to get you a contract and get Mark to measure you up, so Jensen doesn't lose his mind about who's going to be his Mr. Perfect anymore."

A few more minutes and it was decided. Danneel would be on her way, and she'd be the one to convey him to the House of Ackles. He was going to be a runway model, lord help him!

Wondering if he needed to dress up, Jared began to root through his suitcase. He didn't have anything remotely fancy, just a couple of pairs of jeans, his workout clothes and a pair of dress pants. Finally, he shrugged and opted for his jeans, pairing them up with an old Queen t-shirt and a plaid overshirt. If they wanted him to dress up, he was sure they'd tell him what he needed to wear.

He'd showered and shaved and was attempting to wrangle his hair into some kind of order when Danneel rang the bell. Heaving a sigh, he grabbed a beanie and put it on over his hair as he rushed to let her in. 

She greeted him as if they were old friends, throwing her arms around his neck and raising herself up onto her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. "Darling, you're going to be on every billboard around the country before I've finished with you. You're perfect."

Jared swallowed. She looked far less intimidating this morning, in jeans and high tops with her hair in a braid. He wasn't sure how serious she was being, so he just smiled. That made Danneel poke a finger into his dimple and make a sound that was very close to a cat's purr. As they left the apartment, Jared felt as though he'd fallen down the rabbit hole and wondered what on earth was coming next.

Climbing into Danneel's Range Rover, he felt a frisson of excitement go through him. This was really happening. There was no doubt about it. He wasn't in Kansas anymore. He suddenly began to laugh, and Danneel quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Share with the class?" she said.

"Nothing really. It's just that three weeks ago I had about thirty dollars to my name, and lived in a rusty van. Now, I'm in a Broadway show and riding around with someone who wants me to be a model. If that isn't funny, I dunno what is." 

"I guess all this change must make you feel like your head's about to explode, yes?" At Jared's nod, Danneel gave him a comforting smile. "Well, you must think of us as part of your family. I know we're going to love you."

They were silent then, and it was only a few more minutes before Danneel turned into a narrow alley that led to a gated garage. "Here we are. Welcome to the House of Ackles," she said, hopping out of the vehicle and holding out her hand. "Jensen's in the office at the moment, and Mark is probably in the sewing room with the girls. He's going to go nuts when he meets you."

"Looking forward to that," smirked Jared. "Haven't had that kind of reaction since I left home. Some of my little sister’s friends act that way, but I promise you that I don't encourage them!"

Laughing, Danneel led him in through the corridor to the office, where Jensen was frowning over three separate bolts of fabric. As she opened the door, he was making notes on a clipboard, but he swung around as they entered the room. "Oh, thank God! You came!"  
Jared didn't know how to answer that, but luckily, he didn't have to. Danneel came to his rescue. "I'll go make coffee. You go through the contract and get the signature on it, and I'll go lock all the doors, so he can't escape."

"Forget coffee. Bring the scotch! This is a celebration." Jensen put a hand on Jared's shoulder. "Come on into the showing room. It's a little homier, and I'll give you the scoop." With that, he led Jared, bemused as he was, into a large, sunlit space that had a catwalk at one end and an arrangement of leather armchairs at the other. 

Jared still felt as if he'd fallen down the rabbit hole, but Jensen's hand on him was warm, and the man himself seemed much more approachable in his torn jeans and chambray shirt than he had yesterday evening in his tux. He took a deep breath. "You know it's only 11 o'clock. Don't you?"

"Huh?" For a moment Jensen appeared to be nonplused, but he suddenly nodded. "Yeah. Scotch! Breakfast of champions," he said with a grin that lit up his face and produced crinkles around his eyes. "We're gonna celebrate. You've just given me the final thing I needed to make my first ever fashion week a raging success. Besides, you need to meet the rest of us, and a little alcohol will help, especially with Mark." Jensen reached forward to the paperwork that was lying on the coffee table. "Here, sit on the couch, and I'll talk you through the contract."

As Jensen talked, Jared thought his eyes would bug out at the amount of money they were talking about. Mentally he congratulated himself for appearing calm, although to be honest, part of that might be shock. As Jensen talked, Jared made up his mind. If this man was prepared to pay him thousands of dollars for standing around in weird clothing, who was he to walk away?

When Jensen finally wound down and finished his spiel, Jared nodded. "Okay. Where do I sign?"

"Hey!" Danneel came through the door just in time to hear his words. "I'm supposed to ply you with booze so you lose your judgment and sign on the dotted line. You ain't reading the script." She set down the silver tray that contained the crystal decanter and heavy crystal highball glasses.

Laughing, Jensen rose to pour the three of them a healthy slug of Scotch and turned to raise his glass, crinkling his eyes at Jared as he did so. "He's still going to need fortifying, because I'm gonna take him up to the atelier to meet Mark and the girls."

Frowning, Jared took a healthy swallow of his drink and narrowly missed coughing and wheezing as the alcohol burned all the way down. He looked from Jensen to Danneel and back. "Okay. Tell me what you've been holding back. There's obviously something I should know."

"Don't be silly!" Danneel leapt to her feet. "Hurry up and finish your drink. I want to take you upstairs so we can get you measured up. Jensen and Mark are going to have to pull a few all-nighters to get everything altered to fit before the show, and I need to take some photos for our press release. I want to get that out in time for this afternoon's edition, and write something for Vogue Online too."

Jared set his glass down on the coffee table. "Mind if I finish that after? Only I didn't eat breakfast yet, and I don't want to fall flat on my face if I can help it."

"No problem." Jensen got up from the couch and made his way to another door. "I'll tell Clif to make you a smoothie or something. Can't have you intoxicated quite yet."

In no time at all, or so it seemed, Jared was following Jensen up the stairs behind the kitchen while Danneel followed behind him, apparently there to field him if he decided to cut and run. Clutching his smoothie in his hand, Jared took a deep breath as they emerged into the studio. It was bright — almost too bright. There were bolts of fabric everywhere, and several workstations had sergers and sewing machines, although at the present time they were unoccupied.

Towards the back of the room, in front of a large window that looked out over a row of rooftops, stood a very beautiful blonde girl in her underwear. Behind her, apparently in a really bad mood, a tall, grumpy-looking guy with a swatch of fabric and a tape measure in his hands was muttering curses as he worked.

"Swear to God, Adrianne, you're getting fat. If I have to let this waistband out again, I'm gonna say fuck it and go join the Foreign Legion."

"I didn't do anything—” The blonde, Adrianne started to protest, but the man, who Jared assumed must be the fabled Mark, cut across her. 

"Save it. You were out partying last night with that low-life, Collins. Everyone saw you. You were drinking _wine_!" The last was said as though wine was the fount of all evil. "Two weeks to showtime, and you're drinking wine! Get dressed. I'm going to have to remake this goddamn dress before I can fit it to you."

The girl had tears in her eyes as she turned to go and change, and Jensen cleared his throat, quickly.

"Yo, Mark!"

Mark threw the garment he was holding across the room to one of the workstations and turned to where they were all standing, 

"Before you give my models a nervous breakdown, I want you to meet Jared."

The other man's eyes widened as Jensen reached behind him and tugged Jared forward. For a moment he stood appraising Jared, and then he beamed and quickly crossed the floor to where they stood. "For me? Oh, Jensen, you shouldn't have."

Up close, Jared could see that Mark had brilliant blue eyes and messy, blond hair that stood out from his head as if he'd just climbed out of his bed. He had rather more than a 5 o'clock shadow, and he was wearing the tightest jeans he'd ever seen on a man. He was at least as tall as Jensen, and the ripped wife-beater he wore displayed some really nicely muscled shoulders. All in all, Jared thought, if the worst came to the worst, he could take him and flee.

"Jared's just signed up to be my 'face'. I need you to get him measured up and then show him how to walk, runway style. We don't have too much time if we're gonna make the show date." Jensen gave Jared a smile and patted him on the shoulder as he turned to go downstairs again.

"I need to go get Chris in to do a photoshoot. We're gonna need to get him out there as fast as possible in order to counter some of the gossip out there about us using Matt Bomer." Danneel turned to follow Jensen, but as she stepped down onto the staircase she turned. "Jensen, you'd better get back up here and help, or we won't have him ready." As Jensen came back up the stairs, she checked her watch. "I need him looking pretty by 1 pm. I know it doesn't give you a lot of time to measure him up, but you can have him back for a while afterwards."

With that, she went down the stairs and left the three of them alone.

"Well, hello, gorgeous," murmured Mark. "I know we've only just been introduced, but if you wouldn't mind getting undressed down to your panties, I'd be very appreciative." He cast a sly look at Jared's mid-section. " _Very_ appreciative indeed!"

~*~ ~*~

“Oh, no, honey, those won’t do at all,” Mark said distastefully as Jared reluctantly disrobed down to his boxer briefs. He studied Jared for a bit and then dug around in a drawer and came up with a pair of underwear and tossed them at Jared. “Put these on. They will have just the right amount of support in the right places and they'll display both your _assets_ and the designs perfectly."

Jared’s face went even more pink at that, and he just stood there holding the underwear as Mark stood impatiently tapping his foot with his arms crossed. 

Jensen rolled his eyes at Mark and gestured towards the door behind Jared. “Ignore him. There’s a powder room in there. We can at least offer you that much privacy.”

Jared ducked through the indicated door and Jensen implored Mark with his eyes to not scare Jared off. Mark just smirked at him and, as soon as Jared emerged again, went back to his task. He was, if anything, even more outrageously flirtatious than before. 

Jensen was trying very hard to keep his attention on taking down the details, deliberately avoiding looking at Jared or the delicious expanse of tanned skin that covered his very shapely form. Okay, maybe he wasn’t doing that great of a job, but he had to stay focused to get everything done by Danneel’s deadline. And the last thing he wanted to do was add to Jared’s discomfiture. Jensen knew that Mark didn’t mean anything by his manner, but Jared had no way of knowing that Mark was in a committed relationship although he behaved that way with all of the pretty boys. 

Jensen didn’t know whether to feel sad or relieved when they finally finished, and Jared went back to the powder room to change into the crisp white shirt and burgundy blazer that Mark managed to find somewhere in the depths of the ‘wardrobe’ he kept for just such emergencies. Relieved that the awkward moment was over, but sad that that glorious physique would again be hidden from view, he ignored Mark’s fresh smirk and focused on making sure he had all the information he needed. 

“Where is he?” Danneel chose that moment to reappear. “Hair and makeup are waiting for him, and Chris will be here in forty-five minutes.” 

“We’ve just finished,” Jensen answered. “He’s in the powder room getting dressed.” 

“Oh, good,” Danneel said, as if she’d expected them to be dawdling. She crossed the room, and just as she raised her hand to knock on the door, it opened and Jared emerged, dressed in his jeans with the shirt and blazer Mark had provided. Mark started fussing with the collar, but Danneel brushed him off as she surveyed Jared critically. “That’ll do for the head shot. You’ll have to come up with something for a full profile by next week.” 

Jensen went to follow them, but Danneel quelled that intention with a look. “I’ll take care of him, don’t worry. And you’ve got more than enough to keep you busy. Mark, if you must fuss with his collar, hair and makeup will be done in 40 minutes.” 

Danneel sailed out with a bemused looking Jared in tow, and Jensen and Mark turned to the sketches Jensen had done in the margins while taking down the measurements. They had so much to do already, but Jensen had so many new ideas. He knew he didn’t have time to tweak the whole line before the showing, but maybe just one piece?

~*~ ~*~

Jared was nonplussed. He’d had no idea what to expect when he’d called ‘House of Ackles’ that morning, but this was so far outside his experience that he’d never have been able to come close anyway. He felt as if he’d somehow found his way to Oz, and that a crowd of Munchkins would start singing and dancing around him any minute.

It had been bad enough when he’d been expected to take off all his clothes in an open room where anybody might walk in at any moment, but he had balked completely when Mark had expected him to change his underwear as well. Fortunately, Jensen threw him a lifeline and pointed him to a bathroom. He’d known this was going to be a long way out of his comfort zone and had determined to accept things as they came, but that had been a bridge too far. 

His gratitude at being allowed privacy to change his underwear only highlighted the absurdity of this experience. To make things worse, the hottest guy he’d ever seen had been right there to see him in all his self-conscious glory. At least Jensen had seemed to be feeling awkward as well. Jared had done his best to ignore Jensen’s presence and stoically move as he was told while a complete stranger flirted shamelessly with him and touched him in places far more intimate than he was comfortable with. 

He had been profoundly grateful when Danneel had come to drag him off for hair and makeup. This was more familiar territory, and at least he’d be able to keep his clothes on. He relaxed into the chair provided and let the professionals primp and fluff to their heart’s content. He let their conversation float over his head, but the oohing and ahhing over his hair validated his choice to wear the beanie. 

His moment of calm was disrupted when Adrianne, the tall gorgeous blonde model Mark had been berating when he first got to the studio, rushed through the room, clearly trying to hide tears. An equally tall, equally beautiful black woman followed, obviously failing in her attempt to comfort the blonde. Jared decided that it probably wasn’t his business, but if he was going to be working here for a while, he’d keep an eye out all the same. Hopefully he was just jumping to conclusions, but he was sure Jensen would want to know if there was anything untoward going on. 

As if the very thought of Jensen caused him to materialize, Jensen and Mark appeared with another unfamiliar person in tow. 

“Oh, good,” Jensen said, apparently deducing from the fact that the cape his hair and makeup girls had used to protect his borrowed clothing was being removed. “You’re finished. This is Chris Schmelke, Danneel’s favorite photographer.” 

Chris turned out to be an affable guy, who set Jared at ease very swiftly. He chatted about the play that Jared was currently in and asked a lot of questions about his home and family as he and Jensen put up his lighting and hung a curtain designed to provide a neutral background.

As he and Jensen worked, it seemed that Chris was also surreptitiously taking photographs of Jared, capturing his face as he laughed or frowned. Once he'd got his gear set up, he handed the small camera over to Jensen with the instruction to download it onto his computer so they could see what would work for the press, and even better, what would work for billboards.

At that point, Mark, who had been peering in from time to time to see when he could have Jared back, protested. "Oh, Come on! You can't be considering just using his face when there's all the rest of him available? What a lost opportunity! Put him in that brocade waistcoat — you know the one, Jensen? — without a shirt. The jeans he's wearing now will do fine, and if you don't get the biggest audience ever for your collection I will eat my own underwear!" He appeared to consider for a moment. "Or, here's a thought, just how stretchy are those wine-colored velvet pants?"

Jared gulped, apprehensive about what was bubbling up in Mark's evil mind, but Jensen appeared to be much struck by the suggestions. A faraway look appeared in his eyes, and he nodded. "Okay. We're doing the headshot anyway, but go get the other stuff, and we'll see how it looks."

Mark rushed off, cackling with glee. Jared was soon put in position for the shoot and asked in turn to look stern, then to smile, then to gaze soulfully into the distance as Chris snapped away. By the time Mark reappeared with an armful of clothing, Jared had lost any traces of self-consciousness and was posing happily for the camera while Jensen watched.

"I've got the stuff I was talking about. Are you done with the headshots yet?" Mark was holding out the waistcoat he'd mentioned earlier. "Come on, Jay, let's show 'em what we can really do when we're organized."

As he spoke, he was pulling Jared to his feet, unfastening his shirt buttons and virtually dragging the clothes off his back. Jared, who by this time had given up worrying about looking stupid, started to giggle as the borrowed shirt and jacket were tossed to lie forgotten on a chair. The waistcoat was a thing of beauty, made from bright blue silk brocade and embroidered with birds of paradise in gold and red both front and back. If he was asked, he would have said that it was a little too small for him, but that didn't faze Mark at all. Somehow, he succeeded in getting Jared into it.

"Okay. Now your jeans." Mark made for his waist, and Jared reared himself up to his full height.

"I am perfectly capable of taking my own pants off, thank you very much," he said, and proceeded to do so. Applause came from the doorway, where Danneel had just come back from the kitchen. 

"You tell 'em, Jay. I can see at a glance that you're a big boy!" She set down a tray with a coffee pot and cups, and went over to retrieve the discarded shirt and jacket, smoothing it out and hanging it up. "Pellegrino, you're a big slob! How can you treat things like this? It's going to need to be laundered all over again."

Her words made Jared blush and bend to retrieve the jeans he'd just dropped onto the floor, and he stood clutching them to his chest, wide eyed, unsure whether he was being hazed or not. After a moment, Mark stepped forward and patted Jared's ass. He pried the jeans out of Jared's hands and shoved a pair of velvet pants at him while he still stood frozen. "Come on. Let's see the merchandise," he said. "Show us your piratical best."

Slowly, Jared lowered his arms and shook out the garment he'd been handed. As he bent to start pulling them on, there was a round of applause from the door the girls had disappeared through earlier, and he jumped, almost falling ass over apex as his legs were trapped in the tight folds. Jensen, who was standing closest to him dropped his clipboard as he rushed to steady him and prevent him from falling flat on his face, while Mark growled at the newcomer.

"Oh, shut up!" The black girl from earlier was standing in the doorway giving Jared a very appreciative once-over. "Anyone would think you were God Almighty, Mark. I think you've done enough damage for one day." She sauntered into the room to face Jensen, while Mark stood spluttering beside Chris, and, once he realized he was no longer the focus of everyone's attention, Jared made haste to get himself into the pants as quickly as he possibly could.

"You need to get him to back off Adrianne," she said to Jensen, "She's fragile at the moment, and he's constantly bitching at her. She's really cracking up, and none of us need that when the show is only two weeks away."

Nodding, Jensen made a couple of notes on his clipboard, and when Mark opened his mouth to say something, he stopped him, saying, "Later. I'll deal with it, Aisha."

Meanwhile, Jared had finally succeeded in getting the velvet pants to fasten around his waist and was trying his best to breathe without splitting them. At that moment, Chris decided to take control of the shoot and had Jared assume a piratical pose. As his camera flashed, everyone turned to look at him, and he was now cringing as he imagined he could feel the seam at the seat of the pants begin to give way.

"Holy shit," said Aisha. "Those are so tight that I think I can tell you've been circumcised!"

"...Uh, Danneel?" Jared's voice was pitched somewhat higher than it normally was. "Can I have that whisky now, please. I think I need it!"

~*~ ~*~

The interruption couldn’t have come at a better time for Jensen. He’d been having trouble keeping his libido in check around his gorgeous new model. If he hadn’t known better, he’d have thought Mark was having Jared prance around nearly naked all day just to get to him. But it couldn’t be; no-one besides Danneel even knew he was into guys. Everyone had just assumed that he and Danneel were a couple because they shared an apartment and appeared together socially all the time. And they’d been happy enough to leave it that way. It wasn’t as if either of them had time for a relationship just then with all the work going into getting “House of Ackles” off the ground.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how he chose to view it) the interruption had also sent the very man he’d been trying so hard not to obsess over falling inelegantly into his arms. It had taken Jensen an awkwardly long time to realize he was still clutching the scantily clad man of his dreams. The adorable flush staining Jared’s cheekbones hadn’t helped matters. But eventually he had managed to steady Jared and take his hands off the man. Then he’d reclaimed his discarded clipboard in the hope that it might help him focus and turned to deal with this latest crisis. 

He studiously ignored Aisha’s crack and trusted Danneel to make sure Jared wasn’t going to injure himself or run for the hills as he asked Aisha, “Anything specific I should know about?”

At Aisha’s hesitant glance towards Mark, Jensen pulled her into the small storage room and upended a crate for her to sit on. He perched on the edge of a table and tried to adopt a reassuring mien. Dealing with people was so not his strong suit, but since it was his name on the door, anything not handled by others fell to him. “What’s going on, Aisha?” 

Aisha took a deep breath and then blurted. “It’s Adrianne. I don’t know what’s going on with her. She doesn’t talk to me anymore, and she’s been seeing this guy and she hasn’t introduced me and won’t talk about him, and she’s sneaking around and avoiding me when we’re not here. Something’s up, and we need to help her.”

“Whoa,” Jensen said, trying to digest the torrent of words from the upset model. “Slow down. What do you _think_ is going on?” 

“I don’t know,” Aisha answered, slightly more slowly. “I don’t know what would make her shut me out. We’ve been friends and roommates for years, and she’s never acted like this. Only thing I can think of is she might be pregnant.” 

“Why do you say that?” Jensen asked sympathetically, wishing fervently that Danneel could’ve been the one to handle this. She was so much better at this sort of thing. 

“She’s sick all the time and locks herself in the bathroom, which she never did before,” Aisha answered. “I told Mark about it, and when he found out who the boyfriend is he got really angry and assured me he’d take care of it. And ever since he’s been badgering her about her weight and giving her extra work and basically making her life miserable. How is that taking care of Adrianne?” 

“Who’s this boyfriend?” Jensen asked, suppressing a sigh before mentally chastising himself. He really didn’t have time, but when did events wait until a convenient time? And what if Adrianne really was in trouble? “What do you know about him?” 

“His name is Misha Collins,” Aisha answered. “I don’t know anything about him but his name. I got that from Rich, the bartender at the pub we used to go to, but he wouldn’t tell me anything else. Maybe that's all he knew.” 

“Thanks for letting me know about this, Aisha,” Jensen said when it appeared that she’d shared all she knew. “I’ll get to the bottom of whatever’s going on.” 

Fortunately for his ability to concentrate, the photo shoot was finished, and Jared was once again dressed in his jeans and t-shirt by the time Jensen got back in the room. Jared was sipping that glass of Scotch and seemed none the worse for his experience. The bright smile that he gave when Jensen came back in the room eased his tension. He’d been half afraid that Jared would’ve fled while he was gone. He mentally thanked his lucky stars once more that Danneel was with him in this venture. He shook his head slightly when she caught his eye, confident that she’d catch on to the fact that he couldn’t get into it just then and would fill her in later.

“Jared,” Jensen said regretfully, wishing he had the time to just talk to him, although that didn’t seem to be in the cards today. “I’d like to have a chat with you sometime, talk about the show. I have a couple of new ideas for the designs I want to run by you. But right now, there’s something else I have to do. Danneel has my schedule, and you two can work out a time if that's okay with you?” 

Jared smiled another dazzling smile and nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, sure. Whatever you need.” 

Jensen hoped he wasn’t misinterpreting the eagerness, but it seemed Jared was just as keen to see him again as he was to see Jared. He smiled back at Jared and spoke to Danneel, “Danni, please make that this weekend if you can possibly work it out.” 

Danneel raised an eyebrow at him quizzically and then got a calculating look in her eye before nodding. “Of course.” 

Danneel headed back to the office with Jared in tow, and Jensen turned to Mark. “Mark, you got a minute?” 

“Of course,” Mark replied, and fell into step with Jensen as they made their way back to the studio. Jensen didn’t really have an office, just the main one he shared with Danneel; most days he wasn’t having private conversations with staff all day. “What’s this about new ideas?” 

“I sketched some things while you were taking Jared’s measurements.” Jensen answered. “They’re on the pad in the studio.” 

“You know we don’t have time,” Mark warned. “The show is in two weeks, you just got your model, and we have to do the final tailoring.”

“I know, but maybe just one small thing,“ Jensen pleaded as they reached the studio. Mark looked at him quizzically when he shut the door. “But right now, we need to talk about Adrianne.”

“Adrianne?” Mark sighed and sank into the ratty chair they kept in the corner of the studio because Mark insisted it was the most comfortable one he’d ever sat in. Jensen leaned against the edge of a worktable, listening intently as Mark continued. “I was hoping I could get this sorted without having to come to you or Danneel.” 

“Go on,” Jensen said, trying to sound as encouraging and non-judgmental as he could. What he wouldn’t give right now for Danneel to be dealing with this, while he talked to Jared. For any number of reasons. “Get what sorted?”

“She’s seeing this guy,” Mark said. “He’s bad news. And she won’t stop seeing him.” 

“What kind of bad news?” Jensen asked. “And how do you think Adrianne might fit in?” 

“David thinks he’s running girls in Hell’s Kitchen. Maybe boys too,” Mark answered slowly, apparently picking his words carefully. “But he doesn’t have any proof.”

“And Adrianne?” Jensen asked sharply. “What’s this got to do with her?”

“I don’t know,” Mark admitted, words tumbling over themselves like a torrent now that the dam was broken. Clearly this had been gnawing at him. How had Jensen not noticed that something was going on? “Maybe nothing. But when Aisha told me she wasn’t herself lately, I started wondering. I talked to her, and she got upset and defensive. And now everything I say to her comes out sharper than I intend, and she gets angrier, and everything just makes it worse. I don’t know how to fix it, and we have a show in two weeks, and she keeps losing and gaining weight, and I can work with whatever she weighs — you know that — but not if it’s different for every fitting.”

Mark paused for a breath, and Jensen interrupted with the first thing that came to his mind. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You’ve got so much on your plate right now,” Mark explained. “And I know how much Adrianne has been looking forward to Fashion Week, and I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that.” 

“Did you think I’d pull her from the showing?” Jensen asked, incredulous. He’d thought Mark knew him better than that. 

“No, I know you wouldn’t,” Mark reassured him. “But we’re running out of time and we’re all under so much pressure. I don’t know what to do!”

“What if we tweak the design a bit to be more forgiving of her weight fluctuations, and remake the dress?” Jensen’s brain started planning what changes would need to be made and how it could all be done in the time they had. “At this point that sounds like it might be less stressful, and have a better chance of getting a good fit before the show. I'll get a couple of extra tailors in. If they make the toiles and the basic stitchery, will you be able to do the fancy stuff in time?"”

“That could work!” Mark exclaimed, already sounding less stressed. “But what about Adrianne and this guy?”

“I don’t know,” Jensen admitted. “I’m afraid that me talking to her might just make things worse. I’ll talk to Danneel and see if she has any ideas.”

~*~ ~*~

Jared was just happy to be back in his own clothes. He'd really suffered in those velvet pants, and he wasn't sure if his balls would ever be able to descend back to their rightful place. Still, Jensen seemed anxious to see him again! It was probably just work-related, as Jensen had said, but Jared was sure he’d noted a gleam in his eye that had nothing to do with fashion when Jensen had asked Danneel to set up the meeting. He was probably imagining things, though, and he hoped he hadn’t been acting like a besotted maiden.

“Jared,” Danneel’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “What time this weekend works for you? How about 3:00 tomorrow afternoon? Jensen isn’t fully human before about 10:30, and he has a lunch scheduled already.” 

“Yeah! Um ... sure,” Jared fumbled, trying not to sound too eager. 

“Okay, great!” Danneel made a note on her clipboard. “I’ll arrange for a car to collect you about 2:30. At Matt’s house?” 

“Um, yeah,” Jared agreed, then thought better of it. He didn’t want to put anyone out. “But I can take the subway. Just tell me where to be.” 

“It’s no trouble,” Danneel insisted. “I’ll arrange for the car.” 

“Okay, thank you.” Jared shrugged, deciding that it wasn’t worth arguing with her. “Is there a restroom I can use?”

“Sure,” Danneel answered, gesturing at the door Adrianne and Aisha had used. “Gents’ is second door on the right.” 

The first door turned out to be the Ladies’, and Jared thought he heard quiet muffled sobbing as he passed. He knew the smart thing would probably be to ignore it, but he couldn’t do that. So, when he heard the noise again on his way back, he knocked on the door, calling out, “Hey, are you okay?”

“Go away,” a voice answered, and then the door swung open to reveal the gorgeous blonde model that everyone had been calling Adrianne. She left the door open and went to sit on a bench in the changing room the door led to. The walls were lined with mirrored glass, with additional full-length tri-fold mirrors scattered about. Benches were placed at convenient intervals along the wall with a couple of bags on the floor next to the seat Adrianne was occupying. “You’re not Aisha.”

“No, I’m not,” Jared agreed, laughing. He took the open door as an invitation and settled on a bench near hers. “Were you expecting her?”

“Yes,” Adrianne sighed. “Always. She won’t leave me alone.”

“Sounds like she’s just worried about you,” Jared observed. “Like she cares about you.” 

“Yeah,” Adrianne admitted. “She’s a good friend. She just won’t let this go, no matter how many times I ask her to.” 

“This?” Jared asked, hoping the other model would open up to him. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” Adrianne sighed again. “I think it’s the stress. All we do is argue lately.” 

“Are you sure that’s it?” Jared pressed. Normally, he wouldn’t put himself forward like this for someone he barely knows. But it looked like he was going to be working with these girls, at least for a while, and it would be much more fun if they could all be friends. Besides, he had felt oddly protective of Adrienne ever since the scene between her and Mark when Jared first got to the studio. No-one deserved treatment like that, no matter what else was going on. “That scene with Mark earlier was pretty intense. I mean, I get that y’all are all stressed, but is he always like that?”

“Starting to wonder what you’ve signed up for?” Adrianne asked, laughing. The laugh seemed a bit fragile and bitter to Jared, but he could’ve been imagining it. At least she no longer seemed to be on the verge of tears. “Don’t worry, they never treat the guys like that. You’re not expected to be stick-thin and perpetually nineteen.”

“That’s a rough gig,” Jared said sympathetically. He wanted to ask how they put up with it, but thought better of it. “How long have you been doing this?”

“I was nineteen when I started, so I guess it’s been sixteen years now,” Adrianne said. Off Jared’s skeptical look, she laughed a bit sharply, then reprimanded him. “Don’t pretend to be surprised, I know I look every day of my thirty-five years.” 

“No,” Jared disagreed. “You don’t. I would’ve guessed twenty-five. You’re beautiful and have obviously taken incredible care of your skin. You shouldn’t let this industry get you down.”

"You’re sweet,” Adrienne said, the bitterness more obvious than before. “But tell that to my last agency. They stopped booking me for big shows several years ago. Jensen hiring me directly saved my career. My former agent would never even have sent me to the casting.” 

“So, you haven’t been working here long then?” Jared asked curiously. Maybe he could kill multiple birds with the same stone. It would be nice to learn something about the company he’d fallen in with, in addition to making friends with his coworkers. And if things worked out, hopefully he could figure out a way to help Adrianne with whatever the crisis was that she seemed to be facing. 

“You really are new to town, aren’t you?” Adrianne scoffed in disbelief. “Six months ago, Jensen was the hottest face in men’s fashion in decades. Until he quit and opened his own Fashion House anyway. I guess maybe he still is the hottest face, just in a different way.” 

“I can see that,” Jared answered, both completely surprised, yet not at all. Of course, Jensen was a model; that explained everything. Even some of the odd comments Danneel had made. He should’ve put the pieces together. Besides, the most gorgeous guy Jared had ever laid eyes on? Naturally, he’d be a model. “Yeah, I’m the new kid. I just got here a few weeks ago.”

“You’re sweet on him,” Adrianne accused suddenly, her eyes narrowing shrewdly. “Aren’t you?”

“Who? Jensen?” Jared scoffed, trying to play it off. Adrianne just arched her eyebrow at him knowingly and shook her head. Jared shrugged and admitted, “Maybe a little.”

“Uh-huh, sure,” Adrianne teased. Jared was happy to see her smiling, even if it was at his expense. “Keep telling yourself that.”

“Doesn’t matter anyway,” Jared sighed. “He and Danneel seem really good together.” 

“Yeah,” Adrianne agreed. “They are. But I actually have my doubts that they are a couple. They share an apartment, and whenever they go out on the town, they are together. But no-one has ever seen them kiss or anything, and they don’t really even touch that much.” 

“Maybe they’re just not into PDA?” Jared argued, trying to squelch the tiny spark of hope her words had created. He had too much going on to get hung up on some guy, especially a straight guy with a girlfriend. Even if he was the most beautiful man he’d ever met. 

“Maybe,” Adrianne agreed noncommittally, and then shrugged. “It’s just that even when I’ve seen them hug, it’s more like when I hug Aisha. Not that we actually hug that much anymore.”

“What happened there?” Jared asked, glad for the opening. He wished it didn’t come with a retreat from her happier demeanor, but he needed to know what was going on if he was going to be able to do anything at all. And he really wanted to help. Aside from his general sympathetic nature, he thought the two of them were hitting it off. It would be nice to have a good friend in town other than Matt, and he hoped that this was shaping up to be just that. Of course, there was also hopefully Jensen, but that was bound to be more complicated. 

“I don’t really know,” Adrianne sighed. “She’s a couple of years older than me, and sort of took me under her wing when I got to town. She really helped me break into the business and is responsible for whatever success I had. And we did really well for a long time. But then, the last few years have been so hard. We didn’t get booked for the big shows, and what we did get didn’t pay nearly as well, and it costs so much to keep our contact sheets up to date, and rent cars, and all the things we have to do to promote the right image. The agency stopped picking up those bills like they used to when we were booking the best jobs. It got to the point where we were dipping into our savings to get by. And we'll need that to live on — until we can find another career at least — when this one ends. We were considering quitting when Jensen hired us both.” 

“Wow,” Jared said when she finally wound down. Seemed like she really did need someone to talk to. “Sounds like a tough industry. Good thing you have such a great friend to go through all that with.” 

“Yeah,” Adrianne agreed. “She has always been there for me, even with everything being so much harder for her. She barely got half of the casting calls that I did, even at her height, just because she’s not white. And she's had, if anything, far more pressure to look and be perfect.” 

“So, then what happened?” Jared pressed. He was glad she was opening up, but she was still avoiding whatever it was that had her crying in the bathroom. He had a feeling that at least part of it was related to her relationship with her friend. “I mean, I don’t mean to be nosy, but it’s pretty obvious things aren’t perfect between you right now.” 

“She hates Misha!” Adrianne finally blurted, apparently surprising even herself with the vehemence of her statement. 

“Who’s Misha?” 

“He’s this guy I met,” Adrianne said, appearing much less happy to talk about this Misha than she had been about everything else. 

“A boyfriend?” Jared asked when she didn’t go on. 

“No, not really.” Adrianne shook her head, and then sighed and admitted. “Not at first, anyway.” 

“But you started hanging out?” Jared prodded. 

“Yeah,” Adrianne answered. “He was helping me. He gave me an exercise regimen and a diet to follow and it all seemed to be going well. But then things started spinning out of control and I couldn’t keep a consistent weight. And it was driving Mark nuts.” 

“And eventually, you became more than friends?” Jared asked. 

“It’s not exactly like that.” Adrianne shook her head at his characterization of the relationship. “It’s complicated.” 

“These things often are,” Jared agreed, sensing that she wasn’t going to open up any more about that topic just yet. But maybe he could still help in some way. “Is there anything I can do? Maybe talk to Mark or Jensen about the way Mark is treating you?” 

“No!” Adrianne almost shouted, then said more quietly. “That’s what Aisha’s been doing. I know she’s trying to help, and it’s not Mark’s fault anyway. He’s one of the sweetest guys in the industry. He’s under just as much pressure as we are. I’ll have to find a way to deal with it on my own.”

“If you insist,” Jared agreed, again choosing discretion over valor. “Just let me know if you change your mind.” 

“Sorry about all this. I didn’t mean to go on and on moaning about my problems to a virtual stranger. No offense.” 

“None taken,” Jared said. “And I don’t mind, really. You’re not the only one who appreciates having friends. Maybe you can show me the ropes.” 

“It’s different for guys,” Adrianne reassured him. “Well, mostly. There’s still the constant objectification and pressure to present a certain image, but nothing like with the girls. Girls have to be good and perfect and pure, or they're vilified, but boys can be naughty. The press loves a naughty boy. You’ll be fine. Besides, I think Jensen likes you.” 

“You think?” Jared tried not to react to her assertion, but he knew from the heat he could feel in his cheeks that his face was betraying him. 

“Yeah, I do,” Adrianne insisted, and Jared was happy to see a smile on her face again. “You just wait and see.” 

Just then Aisha appeared in the doorway. She stopped short when she saw Jared, but addressed Adrianne. “You ready to go? The car is here, and we have an early call tomorrow. Unless you’re going to see _him_ again tonight.” 

“No, not tonight,” Adrianne assured Aisha. “I need to get a good night’s sleep.” 

“Take care, Adrianne,” Jared said. “Sleep well, and try not to stress.”

“Thanks Jared,” Adrianne said, spontaneously giving him a warm hug and then introducing him to her friend. “Aisha, this is Jared, Jensen’s ‘face’.” 

“I heard he finally picked someone,” Aisha said, giving him a once-over then breaking into a smile. “He certainly chose well, judging by that photoshoot earlier. Not that I doubted that he would.”

‘Thanks,” Jared answered, blushing for real this time. “It’s certainly been interesting so far.” 

“I’ll bet,” Aisha answered. “I remember how my head spun during my first job.” 

“We should get together and chat,” Jared suggested. “You could give me all the pointers.” 

“That would be fun,” Aisha agreed. “But our car is here now. Was very nice to meet you, Jared.”

“Nice to meet you too, Aisha,” Jared said, taking her hand and kissing Aisha on each cheek as this town seemed fond of when Jared would generally shake hands. Aisha’s pleased little smile validated his choice. 

He turned to Adrianne to give her the same treatment, and she laughed at him, pulling him into another warm hug. “Catch you later, Jared.”

“Later,” Jared called toward the retreating girls. “Take care.” 

He was grateful that he managed to get out of the building without running into anyone else. A long subway ride back would give him plenty of time to decompress. And boy would he have a lot to tell Matt when he got back.

~*~ ~*~

"Oh, God! The play!" Jared checked his watch and ran the last three blocks to Matt's building, fumbling for his keys as he hurtled past the doorman to the elevator that would carry him the last little way.

Matt wouldn't be there. He knew Matt would have left for the theater already, and he sighed as he counted out the last of his pocket change, hoping it would be enough for a cab. 

As he flung himself out of the elevator and into Matt's apartment, he crashed straight into Matt, who had apparently just summoned the elevator himself.

"God, boy, you're cutting things fine. It's curtain-up in forty-five minutes. Grab your things and let's go, before we both get fired."

Fortunately, everything he needed was still packed in his duffel from the previous night, and he grabbed it from where it was stashed behind the couch. "Holy shit, Matt, am I glad to see you! I thought I was up the creek without a paddle."

"Well, in some ways, you are." Matt inserted the key into the elevator that would take them down to the parking garage. "You're going to have to choose between the play and the modeling gig," he said. "You aren't going to be able to do them both. You know that, don't you?"

That thought hadn't even occurred to Jared, and he looked stricken. He hadn't really spoken to Jensen much, but he'd been hoping... It really didn't matter what he'd been hoping, because it wouldn't happen now. He sighed. "I guess I'll tell Jensen I can't do it," he said. "The play was first. I can't let you down."

Matt had seemed remote and a little angry, but at Jared's words his expression softened, and he rolled his eyes. "You really are a dumbass, aren't you?" As Jared's shocked gaze flew to Matt's face. "Listen, young padawan, let Obi Wan Bomer teach you a few things. Damn. I really should be your manager. This modeling gig, which I confess I was hoping to land for myself, is worth thousands. What are you going to get for your bit part in a Broadway show?"

"$500 a week," murmured Jared.

"And what were you hoping would come of this pathetic situation?" Matt laughed. "To get more of the same until someone discovered you, right?"

Nodding, Jared shrugged. "I guess. I didn't really think that far ahead. I mean, it's Broadway, right?"

"Yeah, it's Broadway, and you can't afford a Starbucks Coffee without taking out a mortgage. You want to spend the rest of your life living on my couch? Listen! You've already been discovered if you would just pay attention. If Jensen's designs do as well as I think they will, you're going to be making a fortune very soon, and before you know it, Hollywood is going to be calling on you. Don't waste your time on something like this penny-ante show when you can go straight to A-list. Let Alex have your part. He'd love to get on the stage instead of sitting, hoping that someone will get sick. You'll be able to get all those photo shoots and fittings and so on, _and_ get paid."

"I don't want to let you down, Matt. You've put a lot of trust in me. I'd hate you to be disappointed in me after all the help you've given me."

"Oh, fuck! Listen to me, will you? Take the goddamn modeling job. Dump the dead-end stage hoodlum job. Fly, my little one; fly free!" Matt smirked. "You're gonna need a manager, you know. I can help you find a good one, unless Jensen has someone in mind, and I tell you, first night of Fashion Week, I'm gonna be right there in the front row, objectifying you like crazy."

That made Jared laugh. "Okay then. I guess I'm gonna be the face of the House of Ackles. Thanks, Matt. You're a good friend, and I owe you big time. If there's ever anything I can do for you, all you need to do is call me." 

Inside, he was already mentally rehearsing his next conversation with Jensen. It was going to happen. It was going to be great.

~*~ ~*~

Jared woke to the sound of someone leaning on the doorbell. Groaning, he rolled off the couch and onto the floor, where he sat, rubbing his gummy eyes, trying to wake up. A quick check of his watch let him know it was only seven. He swore.

The renewed shrilling of the damned doorbell jolted him out of his stupor, and he crawled to the front door, only pulling himself to his feet at the last minute to open the door, ready to blast whoever was being so inconsiderate with a tirade of invective.

The invective died unspoken as he yanked the door open and saw who was behind it, grinning like a shark. It suddenly crossed his mind that Danneel seemed to have far more teeth than the average woman, and she wasn't afraid to display them.

"Morning, Sunshine," she said, maneuvering past him to take a seat on the couch, where Jared had been snuggled just moments ago. "You're not ready?" She allowed her gaze to wander up and down his boxer clad body and giggled when he dove for his jeans. "While I'm sure Jensen'll enjoy the sight of you if I drag you over there like that, I think it'll be bad for his heart." She giggled as Jared fumbled for a clean t-shirt. "Jensen's been up all night, designing for you. I actually think Mark's going to have a blue fit when he sees how much Jensen's already added to the collection. I'm just hoping that the next couple of weeks doesn't kill us all!"

"I didn't get to bed until four," Jared moaned. "And I thought you weren’t coming until this afternoon. Matt helped me with backing out from the play without getting blacklisted for the rest of my life, and then he and Alex and I went to celebrate." He yawned. "Dude, I haven't even showered. Can I get a shower there if I come as I am?"

"That won't be a problem." Danneel rose to her feet. "We’ve got too much to do to wait until this afternoon. You've got 5 minutes to get your stuff together, and then I'm out of here. Better pack it all; you might need it."

Jared spent a moment looking at her, aghast, and then raced around like a mad thing, gathering up his stuff and bundling it all into his duffel and a couple of shopping bags. "I have my van down in the parkade, but it's not very well. It needs to get the brakes done before I take it out on the road, and an oil change would be good too."

Danneel just stood smiling, and Jared slowly stopped babbling about his van, finally coming to stand beside her with his bags. She surveyed the heap of belongings. "Is this it?" she asked, and, at his nod, led the way to the front door. "Okay, my friend, let's go."

Nobody spoke for the first few minutes of the drive. Danneel was concentrating on threading through the rush hour traffic with a ferocious scowl that implied that there were going to be expletives very soon. Jared, in the other hand, was lost in contemplation of the previous night's events. Last night everything had seemed so logical. Quit the play and become a world-famous model. Now, in the cold light of day, it all seemed like a dreadful mistake on his part. What if they laughed him off the stage, or runway, or whatever the fuck you called it? What if Jensen's collection wasn't all that? One thing was for sure, he couldn't go back and ask for his part in the musical. That ship had sailed. He only hoped he wasn't going down with it

He may have given a little moan. He wasn't sure, but whatever it was that attracted her attention, Danneel turned to look at him, and sighed. "You're having second thoughts, aren't you?" she asked.

"Kinda," murmured Jared. "Not really, though." He sighed. "Feel like I cut myself adrift is all."

"I guess that's understandable." Her voice was soft, and Jared couldn't get over the feeling that she was just humoring him.

"I gave my part in the play to somebody else so I could do this. How do you suppose I can just walk away? I'm miles from home. I've got no money and no job. If this doesn't fly, I'm up the creek and in the shit!" He could feel his face turning red as he became more and more angry. "I'll do what it takes, because I've got no fuckin' choice. What about you?"

"Me?" She laughed. "Jensen's my best friend, and he needs me right now. I guess you can say I've got no fuckin' choice either." She indicated to pull onto Barrow Street. "He's important to me. I owe him."

"You love him?" Jared felt himself tense up as he waited for the inevitable response. To his surprise, Danneel laughed. 

"God, no," she said. "Not in that way. He doesn't bat for my team, anyway. I think he's more interested in you, really."

At that point, she turned the vehicle into the garage, and there were no further confidences exchanged. Mark was waiting for him and dragged him away to start fitting him for garments that Jensen had designed and stitched together overnight. The atmosphere this morning was much more focused. Jared was soon in his underwear, and Mark said very little, his mouth full of pins as he worked through piles of different outfits, fitting them to Jared's body, marking the inside of each garment with chalk and pinning it in place, before reaching for the next item.on the pile.

It had been a couple of hours by the time the door to the stairs was pushed open and Jensen came in bearing a tray that contained a carafe of coffee and two plates of eggs, sausages, and bacon. "Thought you might be ready to eat by now, both of you," he said as he set the tray down on a side table.

Jared was currently standing on a table while Mark moved around him, busily pinning, tucking and snipping, frequently in dangerous proximity to his crotch. As Mark worked, he hummed softly to himself. When Jensen arrived carrying the food, Jared, who had been finding it increasingly difficult to stand still as a rock, took a step towards the edge of the table and let out a scream as an errant pin stabbed one firm butt cheek.

"Don't move," mumbled Mark around his mouthful of pins. "Need to fix this dart."

"Oh, come on, man, breakfast! It's getting cold!" Jared employed his most imploring expression — it had even worked on his sister once in a while — and fixed his eyes onto Mark, who continued to mark out the dart. It was several minutes before he set down his instruments of torture and very carefully removed the garment he had been working on.

"Take him away and feed him," he said to Jensen. "But I'm gonna need him back by 2pm. The girls are gonna be here to teach him runway stuff."

"What about you? You not gonna stop for a bite?" Jensen was watching Jared in awe as he slid his fried egg onto a piece of toast, piled bacon on the top and then covered it with a second piece, chowing down as he pulled on his sweats and t-shirt.

"I'll have it at my desk, if that's okay. Got a lot to do if I want to get a second fitting in later. If I just plough through, we might just be able to make a start on those other designs you came up with last night. I love the Aztec influenced look. Check out the fabric I found in the stockroom. It's perfect! He's gonna rock New York!" So saying, Mark snatched his plate away from Jared’s encroaching fingers sneaking closer to his pile of bacon and took it over to his work station.

"Thanks, man. You're awesome." The food on Jared's plate had disappeared already, and Jensen snickered as he watched Jared once again make for Mark's plate. "Not wise to come between a Pellegrino and his protein," he said. "If you want anything else, come down with me. He'll only find ways to humiliate you if you eat his bacon."

Sighing, and totally believing that Mark would do just that, Jared abandoned his quest and turned back, picking up the tray, and nodding for Jensen to lead the way down to the office.

Once Jared had been settled with more coffee and another bacon sandwich, Jensen paced around, apparently unable to sit down and relax. Jared said nothing until the sandwich was history but then he turned to watch, a little frown on his face.

"Dude, you look nervous about something. Are you worried about my appetite? Don't be scared that I'll put on weight or something and mess up Mark's work. If anything, I lose weight if I don't eat my own weight in protein every 24 hours." He chuckled. "My parents told me it was touch and go whether they would be eaten out of house and home, but I'm happy to report that they're still alive." He patted the seat next to him on the couch, and Jensen, who was passing at that moment suddenly dropped into it, still looking nervous. 

"Uh..." he said, and it seemed to Jared as if Jensen was about to keel over. He reached to pat the man's shoulder and felt him jump.

"You don't have to worry, man. I'm not hungry right now." He grinned, flashing killer dimples, and Jensen twitched, cleared his throat and blushed.

"Uh... We need to... Danneel said... See, you're miles away, on the wrong side of New York." The words tumbled out as if he was hurrying to get them out before he'd be struck dumb, and Jared laughed, relieved that this was the only problem.

"Yeah. It's a long way." Jared gazed at Jensen, momentarily stricken with the thought that he'd never seen such a gorgeous looking man in his life. Even Matt, who he knew was beautiful, couldn't measure up. He was about to open his mouth and start rambling, the way he usually did when faced with someone he was attracted to, when Jensen finally spoke again.

"Would you, I mean do you think you can consider..." Jensen swallowed. "See, there's a small apartment upstairs next to my place, and it would be really convenient to have you on site... For fittings and so on."

"You trying to offer me a place to stay?" asked Jared, eyes wide. 

"Yeah." Jensen finally relaxed. "It's not much, but it'll save the trek across town, and Danneel will be happy. I think she hates driving." He paused for a moment, then shot Jared a look from under his eyelashes. "I really hope you decide to go with it, because she's got a mean streak a mile wide when she's faced with rush hour traffic. What do you think?"

"Sounds like a really awesome solution. Matt'll be happy to get his couch back!" Jared beamed at Jensen. Now if only he could keep himself from licking his face or something equally silly, he'd be fine.

After he'd spent a couple of hours being shown around what appeared to be his new apartment and then spent more time watching Jensen stutter and stammer his way through the next hour, talking about his experience as a model, Jared finally wondered if he was the reason for the man's lack of fluency. He knew that Jensen could talk to Mark, to Danneel and even to Aisha. He hadn't seen it, but he was convinced that he would be able to talk to Adrianne equally comfortably, but for whatever reason Jensen seemed to lose his train of thought whenever he started to address him.

He spent a while trying to work out what was going on, but after Jensen had blushed at him for the ninetieth time there was only one possible conclusion Jared could come to, and that was that Jensen was into him.

Imagine that! Mr. Jensen Ackles — model, actor, singer, recluse — liked him! The concept made him want to sing and dance, or maybe not sing, because Matt had told him it would never be a good idea, but something! It made him want to wrap himself around Jensen and never let go.

Taking his future in both hands, he gave Jensen a huge grin. "So, how do you feel about going out for a drink with me later?"

~*~ ~*~

Jensen blinked. Here he thought he’d been making a complete ass of himself, and then Jared asked him out? He’d never been any good at this sort of thing. He’d dated girls in high school, because that had been what was expected. But he’d never been able to form any sort of connection with any of them. It had been Danneel who’d finally clued him in to the fact that he was gay. Once he’d realized that fact, his life made much more sense. But since central Texas was not exactly a hotbed for gay nightlife, he’d still never had a real relationship. Once they’d moved to New York, he’d just been too busy. Danneel insisted that that was an excuse, that he just needed to put himself out there, and he’d be swarmed with suitors. And maybe she was right, but he’d never met anyone before that made him want to put forth the effort. Now he was wishing he had, because maybe if he’d had some practice, he could have managed to be less awkward with Jared. Fortunately, Jared didn’t seem to mind him being a babbling idiot and had actually asked _him_ out. He tried not to sound too excited as he responded, “I’d like that.”

“Yeah?” Jared replied, beaming. Jared’s smile lit up his face and warmed something deep in Jensen’s core. He couldn’t help but smile back. Jared’s smile grew even broader and the two men grinned at each other for what should have felt like an uncomfortably long time, but Jensen could no longer be bothered with feeling awkward. Eventually, Jared broke the silence, reminding Jensen that they had places to be. “I guess I should get back to the studio before Mark sends out a search party.”

“Oh, right,” Jensen agreed, looking at his watch. "I'm supposed to be having lunch with the buyer from Saks Fifth Avenue. Danni will smother me in my sleep if I don't make it." The time had passed so quickly that Jensen hadn’t even thought about Mark and the runway lessons. Good thing Jared was more aware, but Jensen knew that he must try harder not to be distracted by the budding relationship, or he’d never get everything done in time. “You should get back, and I’ll come find you later. I need to talk to Danneel.” 

Jared shot him one more smile and then set off back toward the atelier. Jensen watched Jared’s retreating form for a moment before shaking his head and going to find Danneel. Much as he might wish to concentrate on Jared, other things were not going quite so smoothly. He hoped Danneel would have some ideas about approaching Adrianne. 

~*~ ~*~

As soon as he'd returned from his lunch, he went looking for Danneel. It didn’t take him long to find his best friend and partner. She was on the phone haranguing some reporter or other about featuring the news about _House of Ackles_ new ‘face’. He sat in the chair across the desk from her and waited for her to finish her call. Once she had apparently got her way, she put down her phone and asked, “So, how did it go with Jared? Is he going to stay in the apartment in our building?” 

“He is,’ Jensen answered. “He seemed to think it was a great solution.” 

“That’s because it is,” Danneel teased. “So, what else is going on? You have worried face.”

“It’s Adrianne,” Jensen replied. “Something is going on with her. Apparently, Aisha and Mark both noticed it, but I was oblivious. Have you noticed her being out of sorts?” 

“No, not really,” Danneel admitted. “But you and I have been really busy, and we don’t deal with her as closely as Mark and Aisha do. Don’t beat yourself up about it.” 

“But it’s my company,” Jensen insisted. “I should know when someone is going through a hard time.” 

“That’s why we have the best people,” Danneel reminded him. “You can’t do it all and you know you’re the best design house to work for.” 

“Because I know what it’s like to be on the other side,” Jensen said. 

“Exactly,” Danneel agreed. “So, stop trying to do more than anyone possibly could and tell me what you know about Adrianne.”

“She’s not herself,” Jensen explained. “Aisha says she’s sick a lot, and pushing her away. Her guess is that Adrianne is pregnant. She apparently has this new guy she’s hanging out with, and Aisha doesn’t like him. When Mark learned who the new boyfriend was, he got upset and started putting more pressure on Adrianne. He also said her weight has been fluctuating, and he can’t get a good fitting. That’s why he’s been harder on her, because he’s frustrated. I wish he’d told me that part as soon as it became a problem, and we could have adjusted the design then and avoided a lot of stress for both of them.” 

“How long has this been going on?” Danneel asked. 

“I’m not sure,” Jensen answered. “I just found out about it yesterday, but it sounds like it’s been going on for a couple of weeks, at least.” 

“Did you talk to her?”

“No, not yet,” Jensen responded. “After talking to Aisha and Mark, it sounded like them talking to her just made things worse, so I thought I’d have a word with you first, see if you have any ideas.”

“Maybe something more casual,” Danneel mused. “We’ve all been under a lot of stress lately, maybe a night out would do us all good. We could go to David’s bar. Give you a chance to spend some time with your boy. And I’ve got someone I’d like for you to meet, anyway.”

“What?” Jensen asked, surprised that Danneel would bring work to the pub. They’d always avoided bringing work there. “Another PR thing?” 

“Umm,” Danneel hedged. “Actually, he is a reporter, but it’s not PR. It’s a … I think it might actually be a date.” 

“Are you cheating on me now?” Jensen teased. “Seriously, though. Good for you. But when did you find time to meet someone?” 

“I met him through Alaina,” Danneel answered. “He’s an investigative reporter and had questions about the industry. So, Alaina introduced us and we sort of hit it off.”

“And you invited him to the pub?” Jensen asked. “You must really like this guy.” 

“Yeah,” Danneel admitted, blushing. “I think I do.” 

“So, is bringing the whole crew on your date going to be a problem?” 

“I doubt it. He knows we’ve got a lot going on right now. And I told him I might cancel at the last minute if something came up. So, I’ll tell him something came up but that he should join us.” Danneel shrugged. “Oh, that reminds me. When he was asking me questions, he wanted to know about some guy named Misha Collins. Apparently what Aldis has been looking into has to do with him and models. Have you heard of him?”

“That’s him!” Jensen exclaimed, happy to have a lead on what was up with Adrianne, but even more concerned that whatever was going on was big enough to have attracted the attention of an investigative reporter. “That’s the name Aisha gave Mark. The guy that Adrianne has been hanging around with.” 

“Oh, wow,” Danneel said worriedly. “It sounded serious when Aldis was talking about him. I hope Addie will be okay.” 

“Yeah,” Jensen replied, emotion tilting more toward concern than relief. “Hopefully we can find something out tonight.”

“Hopefully,” Danneel agreed, then changed the subject. “So, this will give you a chance to hang out with your boy,”

“Jared actually asked me earlier if I’d like to go out for a drink later,” Jensen admitted, blushing. “But I don’t think he meant the whole gang.”

“Oh, really?” Danneel smirked. “He’s obviously got more initiative about this sort of thing than you do. I guess we’ll both be sharing our dates with the whole group. Hopefully Jared won’t mind.”

“He and Adrianne seemed to be bonding yesterday,” Jensen observed. “He would probably approve of anything designed to help her out.” 

“And the two of you will have plenty of time for your own bonding,” Danneel said. “After Fashion Week.” 

“Don’t remind me! I’ve got so much to do,” Jensen groaned. “I don’t know how I will get it all done.” 

“Yes, and I’ve got a lot of promotion yet to do. But now that we’ve got the principal model for your menswear, I can knock that out,” Danneel agreed. “Speaking of which, I’ve managed to get Alaina to come out to interview the whole group of you at 4:00 today. You should let the rest know.” 

Just then, the noises they’d been hearing from the studio upstairs erupted into gales of laughter. Jensen wondered what could be causing Jared to laugh like that. “Sounds like they’re having fun. I should go make sure they managed to show Jared how to walk before they dissolved into merriment.” 

“Yes,” Danneel agreed. “Go make sure they’re not damaging your boy.” 

Jensen ignored her and made his way up the stairs to see what was going on..

~*~ ~*~

Teaching Jared to walk on the runway was a riot! Jared couldn’t remember when he had last laughed so much. The two girls had taken their task to heart and were trying to coach him in the secret ways of displaying the clothes they were wearing. Jared, who was a born mimic, was doing a magnificent job of aping every feminine gesture. Every girly nuance was incorporated into his performance, until the uproar attracted Mark’s attention. It brought him hurrying out of the sewing room and down the stairs to see just what was going on in the showroom.

“What the ever-loving fuck are you doing?” Mark’s voice was loud and sounded astonished, and Jared, who was currently posing like Venus rising from the waves a la Botticelli, froze in position while Adrianne shrieked with laughter and Aisha collapsed onto the couch clutching a filmy length of silk she’d been holding, and rolled around in a fit of giggles. Even the new seamstress, a quiet little person whose name was Sandy, had come to peer around the door to see what was going on with all the commotion.

Aisha took one look at Mark and collapsed into laughter all over again, wheezing as she tried to control herself, while Adrianne attempted to say something and only managed to snort. It was left for Jared to smile brightly and wink.

“The ladies are teaching me how to display my charms on the catwalk. I don’t think I’ve quite got the hang of it yet, but I’m gonna download some of RuPaul’s Drag Race tonight. That’ll help.”

“Wash your mouth out with soap!” Mark was apparently doing his best not to laugh from the expression on his face. “Sit down, all of you! Give me a minute.” 

He grabbed the silk from Aisha, patting it and folding it as though it was something precious, and took off back into the sewing room, only to return a minute later wearing a long, satin dress in a delicate shade of dove grey. Sandy followed behind him, carrying a long, violet wig, which she handed to him, then scrambled up on the stage so she could reach to arrange it on his head. 

“Okay, the entire purpose of modeling is to display the clothing. A good model is one that can show the garment without imposing their personality on it, so the buyer can imagine how they might look in it, however much that might be wishful thinking. Some people are completely unrealistic, but it sure as hell isn’t my job to tell them so.”

So saying, he got up on the stage and began to walk, commenting on what he was doing as he went. The dress he wore might have looked good on someone who had curves, but Mark just didn’t have them in the right places, and the fact that he had left his jeans on underneath wasn’t helping either. However, Jared could see what he meant about displaying the clothes rather than his personality as Mark made overly extravagant flourishes. Finally, he hopped down and flung the dress at Aisha.

“As you may have noticed, my appearance distracted the eye from the clothing, and you couldn’t really see the dress, because you were too busy looking at me. So now you go, Aisha. Same dress.”

Nodding, Aisha rose to her feet and went into the sewing room, returning a moment later wearing the dress Mark had worn.

“Okay,” said Mark, still wearing the wig he’d put on earlier. “Now watch Aisha. She’s wearing a shapeless satin sack. It’s way too big for her, and it hasn’t been fitted, but she will show it in a way that makes the best of it.”

“Yeah, but please tell me you’re not going to send me out there wearing a satin gown. You’re not, are you?” protested Jared.

“If I did, Jensen would want you to display it as if it was the most desirable thing in the world.” Mark nodded as Aisha hopped up onto the stage and proceeded to do her thing. “Fashion doesn’t have to be wearable or even attractive, and sometimes it is neither of those things. The model’s job is to present a fantasy and make it look good, even if it isn’t. Watch her.”

Jared was thinking as he watched Aisha make the shapeless item she was wearing look like a million dollars. “So, you’re saying that you don’t project yourself?”

“Yeah.” Adrianne gave him a smile. “You are the clothes. That’s pretty much all you have to know. Once you start trying to show off it doesn’t work anymore.”

“Get up there, Jared,” said Mark. Model what you’re wearing right now.”

“What? Torn jeans, a Metallica t-shirt, and a flannel?” Jared sounded somewhat baffled. 

“Sure. They’re clothes, aren’t they?” Mark waved him towards the catwalk. “Make us wanna buy what you’ve got.”

Sighing, Jared got up and went to climb onto the stage. “Okay.” He thought for a minute and then began to walk down towards where the others were sitting. 

“Whoa! Take your time. It’s not a race!” called Mark, who was watching him intently. “You should be strolling like it’s a beautiful day, like you have nowhere important to be and you just want to show everyone how hot the clothes you're wearing make you look.”

Jared straightened up at his words, slowed down and started to saunter, loose-limbed. There was a low whistle from the door to the showroom and Jensen came in. “That’s the way. Do it like that and the guys will want to wear that, and the women will all want to buy it for them.”

“That’s exactly what we need,” said Mark. “At the end of the day, it’s all about selling the clothes.”

“I just came up to remind the A-Team that we’ve got Ms. Huffman from Vanity Fair coming in at 4pm. She wants to interview us all about the new collection, so be nice, please. Enthusiastic but without giving anything away. Mark, nice hair!”

There was a general commotion as everyone moved to tidy up, but Jared noticed that Mark retained his wig.

~*~ ~*~

Jared had been a little bit disappointed when Jensen suggested that they all go for drinks that night. He’d been hoping for some alone time with Jensen. Jensen had seemed excited about that prospect as well, but Jared knew how plans could change, especially with everyone so stressed. And Adrianne and Aisha would be there, so he was happy that they would have some time away from the pressure they’d been feeling. Jensen had looked directly at Jared — seemingly apologetic — as he’d suggested the group outing, so Jared was confident that Jensen hadn’t misinterpreted his invitation. Jared would make a point of catching up with him at the bar tonight and insisting that they make some time for just them, hopefully, tomorrow. Surely Jensen wasn’t planning to work _all_ weekend.

The bar turned out to be a small place in Greenwich Village. It looked nondescript from the outside, but inside it was jumping. An attractive, slightly harried looking man greeted them as they walked into the pub. He exchanged a quick kiss and a warm but brief embrace with Mark and then gestured toward the large table near the bar. “There’s a group of tourists in the other room, so I hope you weren’t planning to play pool. You should all be able to fit at this table though. I need to get another case of Scotch from the back, but Julie will take good care of you.”

“Hey, babe,” Mark said, grabbing the man by the arm to keep him from scurrying off on his mission. “I’d like you to meet Jared, the new ‘face’ of Jensen’s line. Jared, this is David, my partner.”

“Oh, hello there!” the barkeep, David, greeted Jared with a smile. His eyes traveled up Jared’s form appraisingly, and when he finally met Jared’s gaze, he nodded cryptically. “I didn’t notice there was a newcomer with the group, though how I missed such a specimen, I really don’t know. Must be busier than I realized. Hope Mark’s not been giving you too much hassle.”

“No, he’s been teaching me what I need to know,” Jared replied, a little cautiously while trying not to blush furiously. He still wasn’t quite sure what to make of these people, but it was certainly interesting. It seemed that Mark and David were a perfect match. “And working on getting the clothes to fit me to his and Jensen’s satisfaction. I never really thought about how much time and effort went into this sort of show. Even for the men.” 

“And Jensen didn’t leave a lot of time to get it all done, what with taking so long to choose someone,” David agreed. “Though after seeing you, I see now why he was reluctant to settle.” 

“Davy! Did you go to Scotland for the whisky?” a pretty, slender, red-haired woman wearing an apron called as she emerged from a door next to the bar. She stopped as soon as she saw their group. “Oh, hi guys. I didn’t expect you until after the show. The stress must really be getting to you. Sorry for the yelling, but I need our fabulous proprietor to _do his job_.”

“Oh, right!” David said, before continuing on his way. “Duty calls.” 

“Sorry, it’s a bit crazy in here tonight. Everyone want the usual?” the pretty redhead asked as they settled around the indicated table. Jensen chose one end of the table, and Jared sat next to him. Mark sat next to him on the other side, with Danneel at the other end of the table and Adrianne and Aisha on either side of her. The waitress glanced briefly at each of them until her eyes landed on Jared. "Oh, hey! You’re new. You must be the new modeling sensation everyone’s talking about. I’m Julie and I’ll be your waitress tonight. What can I get you?” 

“Everyone is talking about me?” Jared sputtered. 

“Don’t worry, love,” Julie answered in a tone Jared was sure was meant to be comforting. “Nothing bad. And talk is the goal, right?”

“I guess,” Jared answered, still unsure what he had gotten himself into, and definitely not sure if he wanted the scrutiny. But then he looked at Jensen, and decided again that whatever attention he received was worth it. And wasn’t that what he had wanted when he came to New York in the first place? Julie was still standing there, waiting for his drink order. Jensen would probably be having a Scotch or something, but Jared wanted to take it easier tonight. “Can I just get a beer?” 

“Sure,” Julie replied with a smile. “Why don’t I bring you a bottle of Jensen’s favorite, and you can see what you think?” 

“Yeah, okay,” Jared agreed, curious what sort of beer his new boss — and hopefully future boyfriend — would like. “That sounds good.” 

“Coming right up.” 

Julie soon returned with a tray of drinks — a pitcher of what looked to be margaritas for the girls, a pink drink in a martini glass with a lime wedge for Mark, and beers for him and Jensen. She stood waiting expectantly after setting the frothy stein in front of him, apparently waiting for his reaction, so he obligingly tasted it. It was one of the best beers he’d ever tasted — hearty, yet still smooth and creamy, with a hint of coffee or maybe chocolate. Unsurprisingly, it seemed Jensen also had really good taste in beer. 

“Wow,” Jared said. “This is really good. What is it?” 

“It’s called Farmer Jon’s Oatmeal Stout,” Julie answered. “Can I get you guys anything else?”

“Just something to munch on. It’s been a long day,” Jensen said. “We’ll flag you down when we’re ready for another round.” 

“Sounds good,” Julie said. “Enjoy.”

The ambiance in the pub was very casual, and Jared felt himself relaxing in spite of his nerves. There was excitement about being out with Jensen, as well as anxiety about his planned talk with Jensen to insist that they take the day off and spend it together. But the conversation flowed naturally, and the instant connection Jared had felt on meeting Jensen just kept getting stronger. Talk inevitably turned to work, with Danneel going over the next week’s schedule. Jared lost track quickly with all the talk of appointments that didn’t seem to involve him. Danneel was all the way at the other end of the table and Jensen was right next to him. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Jensen said quietly to Jared. “We’ll make sure you know where you need to be. She’s mostly just trying to gauge the stress level.”

“I noticed things seemed a bit tense,” Jared observed. 

“Yeah,” Jensen replied. “Sorry about turning our night out into a group event. Everyone is so stressed, and Danneel thought a night out might be just the thing we need.” 

“Is Adrianne okay?” Jared blurted out, surprising even himself. At least he’d spoken softly and everyone else was engaged in the other conversation. “I mean she seemed to be particularly stressed when I was talking with her earlier.” 

“I’m not sure,” Jensen admitted quietly. His eyes darted to the other end of the table where Danneel was holding forth with the rest of their party. “Hopefully Danni can find out what’s going on without upsetting her further.” 

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do,” Jared offered. “She opened up to me a little, and I think we developed a bit of a rapport.”

“Okay, thank you,” Jensen said, smiling. “I’m glad you’re connecting with us, and maybe there will be something you can do. I’ll talk to Danni later and see if she learned anything. But try not to press her; that’s been going poorly for everyone who’s tried.” 

“I got that impression from Aisha,” Jared agreed. 

Just then David showed up with an assortment of bar food, including everything from nachos to chicken wings to jalapeno poppers. Jared relaxed even more at the sight of the familiar fare. He felt almost as if he could be in a bar in South Texas. 

“Howdy folks! Mind if I squeeze in here?” David grabbed a chair from a nearby table and Jared was more than happy to scoot closer to Jensen and give David space to sit beside Mark. 

“It’s your bar,” Mark said, scooting over a bit as well and offering him a fond smile. 

“It’s _our_ bar,” David countered. The whole exchange felt practiced, like it was something they’d done often enough that it had become routine. His guess was confirmed when David continued, “Funny story, Jared.” 

“Not that funny,” Mark interrupted. “Especially to those of us who’ve heard it a hundred times. Or even those who were there, and still hear the story every time you tell it.” 

“But Jared hasn’t heard it,” David continued, undeterred. “The thing is, Mark and I met in a bar. One of those stereotypical gay bars. You know, the ones with music so loud you can’t hear yourself think, and everybody grinding against each other and calling it dancing. We were both miserable. Just there with friends but didn’t want to abandon them.” 

“So, we sat crying into our beers and wallowing in our shared suffering,” Mark added. 

“You would never drink anything as mundane as a beer,” David objected. 

“I’ve been known to have a beer on the rare occasion, Mark said. He lifted his pink martini and added, “But he’s right. I am partial to my cosmos.”

“Anyway,” David went on, “We were complaining about how the only place we could find where we could have a drink and meet other gay men were these night club scenes that neither of us were into.”

“And I told him to open a bar,” Mark interject. “A laid-back one with bar food and pool tables where we could sit and have a conversation.”

“And I said that _we_ should open a place,” David continued. “So, we did. And that’s how "Olive or Twist" was born.”

“You did that,” Mark insisted. “I was too busy with my day job.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” David insisted. “Someone had to have a steady income while I got this place off the ground. Now we even offer real food from time to time, and we already got ourselves a 2-star rating. Would be more but we don't have a big enough menu yet.”

“Enough already,” Danneel said decisively. “We all know you’re both awesome, and even more awesome together, so can you knock it off?”

Jared watched the exchange with amusement. The affection among all of his coworkers was obvious. Even Adrianne seemed much more relaxed and was participating in the banter. And Jared felt like he just naturally fit in with them all. Not to mention his growing obsession with Jensen. He turned his head to glance at Jensen and Jensen caught his eye and smiled. 

“You enjoying yourself?” Jensen asked. 

“Yeah, it’s nice to relax with good company,” Jared answered. “Especially with such an excellent brew to enjoy.”

“It’s a microbrew from this place I found in Midtown — Heartland Brewery,” Jensen said to Jared. “I’m glad you like it. We should go some time.” 

“I’d like that,” Jared said with a smile. “Maybe when things aren’t so crazy.”

Just then a handsome black man walked in and looked around. Danneel noticed him first and stood up, waving her hands above her head to get his attention. He responded with a wide grin and made his way over to their table. Danneel grabbed another chair and set it next to hers, and Adrianne and Aisha moved over to make room. 

“Guys, I’d like you to meet Aldis Hodge,” Danneel said with a big smile on her face. She went around the table pointing to each of them in turn. “Aldis, this is Adrianne, Aisha, Jensen, Jared, David, and Mark.” 

“Hi, Aldis,” the group responded, nearly in chorus. “Nice to meet you.” 

The evening continued in the same vein, but with Danneel and Aldis having quick, quiet conversations on one end of the table and Jensen and Jared doing the same at the other. Jared hoped that he and Jensen didn’t look quite as giddy as Aldis and Danneel, but he was pretty sure that they did. His suspicion was pretty much confirmed by the amused glances the other four kept sending to the ends of the table. 

Jared was happy to see Adrianne relaxing and joking around, looking happier than he’d seen her yet. Even Aisha was thawing towards him. Mark and David were a riot with Mark being the normal flamboyant man that Jared was getting accustomed to, but David had a sharp, dry wit he was just as likely to direct towards himself or Mark as any of the others. After several rounds, Jared was feeling pretty mellow. He only noticed he was moving his chair closer to Jensen’s when his arm brushed the other man’s. He twitched, embarrassed, but Jensen leaned into the contact, so Jared relaxed. He was trying to stay tuned into the conversations going on, but Jensen was so distracting. Every time they brushed against one another, their eyes would meet and Jared was sure he read promises in Jensen’s gaze. He’d been determined to insist on spending the day together the next day, but now he was hoping for spending that night — or at least part of it — together. The very thought had him stiffening in his jeans, and from the way Jensen was squirming, Jared thought he might be in the same predicament. 

Jared wasn’t too distracted to notice the unwelcome newcomer. Aldis sat up straight in his chair and stared at the dark-haired man who’d just entered the bar. Jared heard as Danneel hissed at him, “Is that Misha?” 

“Yes,” Aldis said through gritted teeth. “That’s him.” 

“Do something!” Danneel demanded. 

“I can’t,” Aldis answered. “There's really nothing I could do, not until he does something, anyway. It's not like I'm a cop, and anyway, I can’t burn my source; it might put them in danger.” 

“Where’s Adrianne?” Jensen interrupted sharply. 

“She and Aisha went to the—” Danneel started. 

Jared didn’t understand what was going on, but it was obvious that his friends thought this man was some sort of threat to Adrianne. He didn’t wait for Danneel to finish speaking. He had seen Adrianne and Aisha head toward the ladies’ room not five minutes before, and suddenly he had a sick feeling. Without thinking, he leapt to his feet and made for the bathrooms. Before he was halfway there, the two girls emerged, and Jared watched helplessly as the man — Misha, apparently — shoved Aisha against the wall and grabbed Adrianne by the arm, dragging her towards the door. 

“No!” Adrianne said, struggling to pull her arm from his grasp. “I said I wasn’t going out tonight!”

“And yet here you are,” Misha said. “Were you lying to me?” 

“This is different!” Adrianne insisted, and then the door slammed behind them. Everyone in the bar seemed stunned, but Jared was already moving. He raced out the door, with Jensen, Mark, and Aldis right behind. David was already on the phone to the police. 

Adrianne and Misha were 50 yards away, Adrianne’s back pressed against a cinderblock wall. Misha had her by the shoulders and appeared to be shaking her. The men raced towards the pair, but Misha looked up, then shoved Adrianne back against the wall once more and took off running down the street. A dark SUV pulled in beside him, and as they watched, it pulled away with Adrianne's assailant in it. Jared and Jensen raced to Adrianne’s side while Aldis ran after Misha, cursing as it became apparent that he wouldn't be able to catch up with him. 

“You okay?” Jared asked, petting Addie's face and pulling her in against his chest in a huge, comforting hug. 

“Yeah. Better now.” Adrianne nodded, sobbing as she burrowed in against him. “Thank you.” 

“What happened?” Jensen asked. “What did he want?” 

“I told him I didn’t want to see him anymore,” Adrianne said. “Then he slapped me and pushed me.” 

Jared saw red. It was probably the Texas in him, but men just didn’t hit women. Jensen stiffened as well, but put a hand on Jared’s arm, apparently an attempt to calm him. Jared knew flying off the handle right now wouldn’t help Adrianne, but he sure hoped Aldis could help them find this asshole. 

They helped Adrianne back into the bar, where Julie was tending to a scrape on Aisha’s arm with Danneel hovering over them. Julie took one look at Adrianne, finished affixing the Band-Aid to Aisha’s arm, then ducked behind the bar and emerged with an ice pack for Adrianne’s face. Impossibly, Jared was even more angry once he saw the livid red handprint Misha had left on her cheek. 

The police came, but Adrianne refused to press charges. Danneel and Aisha encouraged her to change her mind, but when Aldis returned, he subtly supported her stance. He didn’t offer the police any information, and Jensen and Danneel took their cue from him and waited until the police had gone before asking what had happened outside. 

“Did you catch him?” Danneel asked. 

“No,” Aldis admitted ruefully. “A black SUV stopped and picked him up, then took off.” 

“But he can’t just get away,” Danneel almost shouted in frustration. 

“He won’t,” Aldis promised darkly. 

“Please,” Adrianne interrupted quietly. “I’m okay. I just want to go home.” She smiled sadly. "We were having such an awesome evening. Sorry to ruin it with my stupid problems."

“It's okay,” Jensen said, taking charge. “We’ll table it for now. Not much we can do tonight anyway, but we're gonna be back here soon, and there won't be any more incidents like this to spoil the evening.” 

“Yeah,” Aldis agreed. “I’ll be able to find out more tomorrow. I got a license plate.” 

“The police could’ve—” Jared started. 

“No,” Aldis said quietly but firmly. “No police.” 

Jared was all set to object, or at least question, when Danneel responded. “Okay. But at some point, you’re going to tell us what all this is about.” 

“Soon,” Aldis agreed. "I realize it's a lot to ask, but just trust me for now, please?" And that seemed to be the end of that. They said goodbye to David, who had to close, and set off for home.

~*~ ~*~

The evening had passed pleasantly for the most part. Everyone was mellow, although when Adrianne's boyfriend had turned up it had cut their evening short, with injuries to both Aisha and Adrianne. Jared's swift action had meant that there were only scrapes and bruises, the men had all gotten up to follow, and Adrianne had, thankfully, been released, flushed and apologetic, to return their table for a few minutes. Still, the event had broken up the evening, and now they were all strolling back to the House of Ackles. Jared couldn't help noticing that both Adrianne and Aisha clung close to Mark, who was walking them home to their apartment, close by the workshop.

"That was fun," Jared said to Jensen as they left the bar to go back home. "It would've been nice to go on our own, but I did like everyone bonding, and of course we were able to help Addie. I like that place. Mark and Davy go really well together, don't they?"

"Absolutely." Jensen laughed. "Just wait for Halloween, or one of their karaoke nights, that's all I'm going to say." He slid his arm around Jared's waist and snuggled closer as Jared put his arm around Jensen's shoulder in an affirmation that the two of them should cling together. "Maybe if you're up for it tomorrow, and we're not run off our feet, we could go over to the micro-brewery that makes my favorite beer."

"Tomorrow?" Jared, beaming. "Yes. Let's go tomorrow, and If that isn't possible, I still want to go whenever you have the time."

"God, Your smile!" Jensen stopped walking and pulled Jared around to face him. "I'm probably getting this all wrong and jumping the gun, but..." He flapped his hands helplessly and then reached up and cupped Jared's cheeks, pulled him down and pressed his lips to Jared's.

It took Jared a moment to get with the program, but he was soon into the spirit of the thing, giving as good as he got, despite a call of, "Get a room!" from Danneel, who was on her way back to their building and her apartment. They didn't move, despite Aldis's raucous laugh as they passed. When the two of them finally came up for air, Jared gave Jensen his blinding smile again and turned to resume their progress back to the atelier. 

"I'm thinking that we should continue this discussion back at my new apartment." Jared cast an amused sideways look at Jensen, who was visibly getting himself together again after their kiss.

"Discussion?" asked Jensen.

"Yeah, deciding whether you're getting things all wrong and jumping the gun," said Jared, with a grin. "Got some awesome philosophical questions there, which I personally believe should be debated and fully analyzed, preferably in private, if you would like to join me in my sumptuous, but sparsely decorated apartment?"

Jensen laughed. "Why, Mr. Padalecki, I'd be proud to join you. I do believe that this discussion would be most profitable."

Still holding onto each other, they made their way back to Jensen's building and went in. Danni and Aldis were sitting in the office drinking coffee when they reached it, and Jensen saluted them, gesturing vaguely towards the stairs. 

"See you tomorrow, I guess," he murmured with a sheepish little wave and turned to go up to the fourth floor with Jared in tow. As he put his foot on the first step, Jared turned and winked at Danni. 

"Don't wait up!" he said.

~*~ ~*~

Jared's apartment was still very empty.

The rest of Jared's belongings had been packed by Matt and fetched by Clif, the large, unsmiling assistant, and were still crammed into a couple of holdalls on the floor of the living area. It hit Jared forcibly that he would need to actually buy things for it, if he was going to live there for any length of time, and he hoped that he'd someday have time to actually shop for items like food before he fainted from lack of nourishment. 

Turning to Jensen, he shrugged. "What you see is what you get," he said, and then gasped. While he'd been looking at his new home and feeling inadequate, Jensen had taken off his jacket and shirt, and was in the act of pushing his jeans and underwear down to stand, gloriously naked, in front of him.

"Same for me," said Jensen, blushing a little as Jared gazed at him, feeling his jaw drop.

"God, you're..." Jared stopped, not sure which superlative to use to describe how he was feeling.

"Inappropriate? An idiot? Jumping the gun?" Jensen visibly cringed. "All of the above?"

"I was going to say gorgeous," said Jared, reaching for him. "But that doesn't really do you justice. From where I'm standing, you look like every wet dream I've ever had, all rolled into one unreal, package..." he ran his hands over Jensen's shoulders and down to grasp his arms and pull him close. "I'll stop talking now," Jared said, and kissed him.

Kissing was good. Jensen's mouth — his gorgeous, plush, tender mouth — was indeed a wet dream. Kissing was amazing, but it wasn't enough. Jensen's lean, hard body pressing up against him, and his warm hands trying to find bare skin. Jared almost fell ass over apex as he tried to get out of his jeans at the same time as leading Jensen to the ladder that would take them up to the loft where his bed was waiting for them.

Matt had sent the bedding he had been using along with Jared's other things, and someone, possibly Clif, had made the bed for him. It wouldn't have mattered. If there had been no bed, he'd have been ready to use the floor! This was Jensen, and impossibly, Jensen wanted him, was looking at him with eyes that had darkened with lust. He could only hope that this wasn't just a casual thing for Jensen, because at that moment, Jared couldn't imagine not being able to have this every day for the rest of his life.

Pushing Jensen down onto his bed, Jared attempted to shed the t-shirt that was half off his body, while still kissing Jensen. When it dawned on him that wasn't working, he finally drew back and kneeled up on the bed to finally pull the offending garment over his head and toss it... somewhere. 

Jensen had slid his hands around to grip Jared's buttocks and he wasn't waiting for permission. Jensen pulled him forward, nuzzling and licking into his groin, and this was everything. Jensen's sensual mouth opening to lick and kiss his cock, lips shiny with pre-come, was too much even while it wasn't enough.

Moaning softly, Jared squirmed around to do the same for Jensen, wondering if he could manage to hold back his climax long enough to get to taste Jensen, find out what flavor he was, how juicy, but right then, Jensen sucked him deep, and at that point Jared lost it, spiders of prickling, tingling sweetness tightening his body. There was nothing he could do. Jared cried out and shot his load. Seconds later, Jensen came, sticky white spatters that clung to Jared's cheeks and eyelashes.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry," muttered Jared, once he could speak again. "I'll just..."

He struggled to his feet and went to find a towel, or a washcloth or anything and finished up grabbing his t-shirt to clean them both up. Jensen was smiling as Jared dabbed at his face.

"Don't be sorry. That was amazing."

"It was," agreed Jared, flopping back onto the bed beside him. "Sorry it was over so fast. I just... It's been a while."

"For me too," nodded Jensen, and yawned, his eyes half closed as exhaustion set in.

"Stay?" Jared was feeling exhausted too. All this excitement was outside of his experience. He felt as though he'd been caught up in a whirlwind, and his feet hadn't touched the ground for the past few days. "We can continue this conversation in the morning."

Jensen's only response was a gentle snore.

~*~ ~*~

Jared was dreaming. He was dressed as a merman, wearing a big, scaly tail, and lounging in an old fashioned, cast iron bathtub on the stage, while Mark banged on the side of the tub with a trident. He suddenly jolted awake to the sound of frantic hammering on the door. His first move was to fall out of the bed, hazily wondering what time it was, before leaping to his feet and rushing to climb down the ladder to find out what was happening, and who was trying to shock him into an early grave.

Fumbling for sweats, and hopping around as he tried to pull them on, he shouted "Coming!" in the hopes that the racket would stop. It didn't.

Finally pulling the door open, he was faced with Danneel along with Aldis, who was hovering behind her. Jared was about to tell her that she was not being funny, when he noticed that both she and Aldis looked shaken.

"What is it?" He stepped back to allow them to come in and caught sight of Jensen peering over the edge of the loft.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry to interrupt your night, but Jensen needs to know. It's Adrianne," said Danneel. "Aisha just called me. They're at the hospital. Adrianne had some kind of seizure or something." 

"The hospital?" Jared frowned. "But she was fine a little earlier."

"Jay? Throw me my pants?" Jensen grabbed the garments he'd been wearing as Jared tossed them up to him, and a soon as he was decent slid down the ladder to look for his shoes. "Come on," he said to Danneel. "Where is she?"

Aldis, who was on the phone to Aisha at that moment, spoke up. "She's at Lenox Greenwich Village. They're examining her now."

Jared pulled himself together and grabbed fresh clothes from one of his bags. "I'll... Gimme a minute."

As soon as the two of them were fully dressed again, they made their way down to where Aldis's Audi was parked. "Come on! It isn't far. I'll take you."

~*~ ~*~

Jared, who was sitting in the back seat with Jensen, felt his new love trembling beside him.  
He reached to fling an arm around his shoulders and pull him close. "She'll be okay," he whispered, nuzzling into Jensen's hair.

"I hope so." Jensen sounded broken. "I thought everything was going too well. You know, if the show doesn't go on, I'll be in real trouble."

"Oh, God, the show!" Jared hadn't really thought things through, but he was beginning to realize that Jensen was worried about far more than one sick girl. The thought suddenly crossed his mind that maybe someone was attempting to sabotage the presentation. He took a deep breath and summoned up his most soothing voice. 

"It'll be alright," he whispered. "She'll be fine. I bet she just ate something that disagreed with her."

Pulling up outside the door of the emergency department, Aldis told the others to go in. "I'll come find you once I've parked the car," he said, giving Danneel a swift peck on the cheek as she slid out of her seat.

As they hurried into the hospital, looking for a nurse's station or somewhere that would tell them where they could wait, they saw Aisha, who ran to them, her face stained with tears. 

"What happened?" Danneel put her arms around the sobbing girl. 

"I don't know. We were chatting about the evening, and she was fine. We were laughing at some of the stuff David and Mark were saying earlier. She went to change into her night clothes, and then when she came back, she was different. She kind of turned grey. I'm not kidding. Even her lips were blue, and she suddenly didn't know what she was talking about, like she was drunk." Aisha took the tissue that Danneel offered her with a nod of thanks and dabbed at her eyes. "Then she just slumped over, and I thought she was asleep, but I couldn't wake her up to get her to go to bed. That's when I called for a cab and got her here."

"You did good." Jensen patted her on the shoulder and gave her what looked as though it was intended to be a smile. "Is there somewhere we can go sit while we wait?"

"Oh, yeah. Follow me. It's this way." Aisha led them down the corridor to where it opened out into a small sitting room. "This is where they said to wait. We have to stay out of the way, because they go charging through with stretchers when an ambulance comes in."

Time ticked by. Jared dozed from time to time, his arm around Jensen, who seemed to have fallen asleep on his chest, body warm and loose and trusting. Aisha paced until Danneel, exasperated, made her sit down. None of them spoke. There was nothing to say. The emergency room was noisy. Bells and pages were constantly going off and people shouted as they raced from place to place, ants in an anthill of pain, each with his place in the bedlam. At one point an ambulance arrived, and the noise was almost deafening as the patient moaned, the paramedics rushed him through, and nurses and doctors all yelled orders to God knows whom. Jared hoped that if he ever needed hospital treatment, they would issue him with ear plugs before they tried to save his life or anything clever!

Dawn was breaking when at last a harassed looking doctor hurried in to speak with them. "Ms. Taylor? I'm Dr. Armstrong. I’m here to give you a progress report on Ms. Palicki."

Everyone stirred at that with the exception of Jensen, who slept on, head pillowed on Jared.

"How is she?" It was Danneel who finally spoke, and the doctor swung around to look at her.

"She's resting at the moment, but it was really touch and go for a while." The doctor spread his hands as if to demonstrate just how hard it had been to help her. "How long has she been an addict?" he asked.

Aisha looked at him, face blank. "An addict?" she repeated. "I… She isn't... I mean... Oh, God!" 

"She most definitely is." The doctor looked grave. "She's lucky to be alive. We've had to give her more than one shot of Naloxone to keep her breathing, and I highly recommend that she consider a detox center and counselling once she's released."

"You're telling me my best friend is a junkie?" Aisha blazed anger from every pore. "How come I wouldn't know that? Where are all the track marks? She's scared of needles, for heaven's sake."

"I'm really sorry, Ms. Taylor, but the facts are the facts. Your friend is a heroin addict." He sighed. "The best thing we can do for her is keep her for a day or two to help get her sober and have our Dr. Benedict evaluate her. We'll know more when she wakes up, but that won't be for a few hours yet."

"Who is this Dr. Benedict?" Jensen had finally woken up and begun to take in what people were saying. Jared felt suddenly cold without the warmth of Jensen's body pressed against him+.

As Dr. Armstrong began to discuss detox and counseling services, Jared got to his feet and looked around. Something about Aldis's facial expression caused him to move over and stand beside him.

"You know something, I can tell." He nudged the handsome reporter and gestured for him to follow. They worked their way back down the corridor and out to the front of the hospital. "It's that Collins creep whose caused this, isn't it?"

"I'd say that was pretty much a given," nodded Aldis. "He's a dealer, and she's a beautiful girl. I've seen him do this to other beautiful girls. One of these days I'll be able to pin something on him. I'm hoping that it might be now."

"Where does he hang out?" Jared frowned. "Haven't they searched his premises? His house? I can't believe that he's getting away with this kind of thing."

"Of course they've searched his premises." Aldis raised his eyebrows. "They can't just do it every day, though. They have to get a warrant, and for that they need to convince a judge that the invasion is warranted, if you see what I mean."

"I guess I knew that." Jared flushed. "I watch Bones too." He laughed, then yawned. "God, I need my beauty sleep. So where would I find this piece of shit, if I were to look?"

"Trust me. You don't wanna do that." Aldis put a hand on Jared's arm. "Listen to me. He's bad news." Sighing, the reporter shook his head. "He'll have heard Adrianne is here by now. All you need to do is hang around the hospital. He'll be here soon enough."

Jared nodded. "Good thought." 

"Now if you don't mind, I need to get my girlfriend home and then go to work. It's almost 8 o' clock." Aldis turned and went back inside. A moment or two later, Jared sighed and followed him back to find out what had been decided.

~*~ ~*~

Back in their waiting room, everyone was getting ready to leave. Jensen had called Clif to bring the Range Rover to ferry them all back to the ‘House of Ackles’, and after Jared had taken him aside to tell him what Aldis had said about Collins probably trying to get to Adrianne in the hospital, he'd asked Clif to stay with her in her room until he could organize something. Clif, when he arrived, had nodded, apparently unflappable, and taken up residence at Adrianne's bedside armed with a packet of gummi-worms and a romance novel.

Arriving back to the atelier, Jensen had told Jared, Danneel and Aisha to go and get some sleep and then taken a deep breath and gone up to the sewing room to talk to Mark.

"We're going to have to take a day," he said as he arrived at Mark's workstation.

Looking up from where he was stitching the collar of a flimsy, embroidered silk blouse, a handful of pins stuck between his lips as usual, Mark gave him the raised eyebrow of doom and stopped his machine.

"What the fuck are you talking about? We don't have time to take a day. We've got a show to do in just over a week, and..." 

"It's not negotiable!" Jensen interrupted him as he was just getting into his tirade. "Adrianne is in the hospital."

"Jesus! Why didn't you say so? Where is she? Come on! We need to go see her." Mark had risen to his feet and was pulling on his jacket as he talked. Returning to where Jensen stood, he frowned. "Come on," he said again.

"Listen, Marco, we need to tread very carefully. She's in trouble." Jensen bit his lip, trying to decide how to word his message before he finally decided there was no point in sugar-coating it. "She OD'd last night,"

He expected an explosion of wrath at his news, but Mark still surprised him. "It's that sleazy bastard. The one who was manhandling her last night, isn't it? What did he do to her? I'll fucking kill him!"

Without further words, Mark flung himself out of the room and down the stairs, leaving Jensen to stand open-mouthed, staring after him.

Finally, he grabbed his own coat and crammed a beanie on his head before hurrying to catch up with his design supervisor, tailor, and best friend.

~*~ ~*~

Back at the hospital, Adrianne was just struggling back to consciousness when Mark rushed into her room, arms full of flowers, candy, and a large stuffed frog. He was followed by Jensen, who looked decidedly more low-key bearing a cardboard drink tray with four coffees.

"What did that asshole do to you?" Mark dropped down to sit on the edge of the bed and dumped the frog onto Adrianne's pillow. 

Turning her head to look at the frog, Adrianne giggled, and Mark set the other things he'd brought onto the side table and then took her hand. "What happened? Come on, girlie. Tell your Uncle Mark."

Tears filled her eyes, and for a while it seemed as though she wasn't going to say anything. Jensen busied himself handing out the coffee, one to Clif, who then left the room, telling his boss he'd be 'back in ten,' one to Mark and one for Adrianne, which he set on the nightstand until she could sit up.

Finally, she began to relate what had happened. To start with, Misha had been charming and loving, but a couple of weeks earlier he had asked her to join him at a party, and she had found herself to be the only female 'guest.'

"He told me that he wanted me to 'be nice' to them, and when I tried to refuse, he had two of them hold me while he stuck a needle in me." She swallowed, but finally continued. "I don't even remember what happened after that. I think I was laughing, and then I kind of blacked out. When I woke up again, I knew something had happened, because it was morning, and I was sticky and gross, but Misha said I did good, and thanked me. He said he had a reward for me, and we made love. It was amazing. I'd never felt anything like it. He dipped his cock in this powder, and it was so good. I thought I was going to die."

Mark's face had tightened, and he turned to Jensen to mouth, "I’ll kill him," before returning his attention to the girl in the bed, who was struggling to sit up.

Once she was settled, coffee in hand with the frog tucked in beside her, she sighed. "After that, I wasn't going to see him anymore. I didn't like the idea of letting all those other people do god knows what to me, but he promised it wouldn't happen again, and we had a couple of good dates. Then he gave me some more stuff to try. He said it was safe and that he'd do it with me to prove what he said was true, so we had a really fun date, although I felt kind of off the next day.

"I told him no more and that I didn't want to see him anymore, because you were starting to yell at me, and I could tell that it wasn't good for me, because I was starting to need it. He said that he had some different stuff that would counter the effects so I could feel better. That's what he gave me last night, but I didn't go with him. I came back to be with you all, but later I was shivering and sweating. I got cramps, and I knew. I didn't know what to do, and I knew how to make it stop. All I had to do was what he showed me."

She stopped speaking again, her breath hitching, and Mark patted her. "He said there were a few doses to tide me over. That's what he said. He told me he'd see me later about payment. I just wanted it all to stop. I thought that if I used it all at once that would be it, and it would all be over, but it isn't, and I don't know what to do now."

Jensen had been standing by the door, listening, and he stepped forward now. "All you have to do is stay in bed and do what the doctors tell you. We'll sort it all out. I'll be back shortly." With that, he left the room and went to find Dr. Armstrong.

~*~ ~*~

It was around 2pm when Jared finally awoke and hauled himself out of bed. After a brief shower, he stumbled downstairs, hoping to find something to eat, since he still had no groceries — or indeed plates to put them on. Arriving in the office, he found Danneel on the phone, making copious notes and occasionally asking questions.

"Are you sure that's safe?" he heard her ask, as she raised her hand to give him a brief wave. "Well, all right. If that's what the doc says will work best, I'll get it set up for her."

Knowing that she must be talking about Adrianne, Jared took a seat and waited for her to finish the call, which she did a moment later.

"That was Jensen," she said. "Mark got the whole story out of her, and it sounds like they're recommending an anesthesia-assisted ultra-rapid detox. There's a facility close by here where we can arrange for her to be, and she will be well enough to model for Jensen." She frowned. "I'm not kidding, Jared, if one more thing goes wrong with this show, I think I'll shoot myself. I can't stand the stress much longer."

"Anything I can do?" he asked. "I do great shoulder massages, just so you know."

"I don't think so, sweetie. I just have to call the facility and make sure that they have an immediate space." Turning back to her notes, she began to make the call.

Jared wandered into the kitchen, hoping for food and settled on a pizza he found in the freezer. Shoving it into the oven, he set the timer and began to make coffee. It wasn't long before Danneel came to join him. "Oh, my goodness, that smells so good," she said. "Detox is taken care of. The guys are taking Addie over there right now, and apparently Dr. Armstrong spoke to them, so they're up to speed with how things need to go." 

The oven chimed, announcing that the pizza was ready, and it really did smell good. Jared was sure his stomach believed that his throat had been cut, so he was the one that reached to take it out of the oven and cut it into four big slices.

"No point in dainty slices," he said. "I have a big mouth!"

"I'm not touching that one," responded Danneel and reached for the baking sheet. Laughing, she lifted a quarter of the pie onto a plate and took it back to her messy desk, along with her coffee. Jared just sighed at the empty space where it had been and gathered up the rest to follow her back to the office.

~*~ ~*~

The days flew by. If Jared wasn't standing around in his nothings while Mark stuck pins in him, he was trying on shoes or getting his face well and truly cleansed and peeled. A hairdresser had cut his hair cunningly and then confiscated his beanie until after the show, much to his distress. He wished that Jensen would spend time with him, but the man was making do on two hours of sleep a night, often dozing off with his face smooshed onto his work bench, his head pillowed on some flimsy garment or other.

Jared learned to keep the coffee coming when he wasn't required for fittings.

Four days before the show, Adrianne came home. She looked pale, and her skin had a yellowish tinge that made Jensen wince. At that point, the stylist, Katie Cassidy, already a fixture in Jared's life with her chemical peels, moisturizers and other instruments of torture, joined their team for good, and with magical fingers she began to work on Adrianne — her mission: restore Adrianne to the beauty she had been before the events of the past couple of weeks.

Jared watched, seeing everything, worrying about Jensen as he progressively ran himself into the ground, but unsure how he could help. Jared’s breaking point was an altercation between Jensen and Mark over what Jensen was going to wear for the show. Jared truly believed that if he hadn't stepped in between the two of them, they would have come to blows. 

That was the point he went to find and confide in Danneel.

"Yeah," she said, after listening to Jared's tale of woe. "It's time to put the brakes on, or he's going to keel over before the show, and then there'll be nobody to charm all the punters." She tossed her paperwork into the tray beside her phone on her desk and rose to her feet. Jared laughed aloud and applauded.

"You go, girl. I'll learn from the best!" 

Danneel smirked. "Watch and learn, young Padawan. They are behaving like children, and it's time for them to go to bed." With that, she stalked up the stairs to the workroom, and over to where the two men were still arguing, while Sandy and their other new recruit, Cindy, sat looking horrified. Arriving at Mark's workstation, she folded her arms across her chest and waited.

It took only a few seconds for the two of them to quiet down and look at her, and there was a brief pause while she glared between the two of them. 

"Listen to yourselves, you two. You're so tired you can't think straight. You're both running on fumes, and if I have to, I'll knock your two heads together. Mark Ross Pellegrino, go home to David and have him put you to bed with a strong drink. Don't you dare come back here until Wednesday."

Mark looked at her, wide eyed. "Do you have any idea how much work there is to be done?"

"Not as much as you think. We've got two ladies here who are just dying to step up." She turned to Sandy and Cindy. "Anything left you think is too difficult to finish?"

"Most of it is last minute stuff like trim or buttons. There's only the one jacket for Jared that hasn't been put together yet," said Sandy.

"You can do that can't you?" Danneel raised an eyebrow. 

"Of course." Sandy gave a grin. "Let me at it."

"Good. Settled. Go home, Mark." A tired smile appeared on Mark's face, and he rose to his feet.

"Got it, Boss. See you Wednesday." With that, he stumbled towards the stairs, half smothering a yawn.

Jensen half rose to his feet. "Now wait just a min..." Danneel said nothing, merely raised one hand and waited.

"Jared, please come and get him and put him to bed. I don't want to see him in here again before Wednesday morning." With that, Danneel turned and left the room.

"Come on, Jen." Jared took Jensen's hand and pulled him to his feet. "You're dead on your feet." Tugging him along, Jared led Jensen to the doorway and up the stairs to his loft. "You need sleep. You can't even walk a straight line. How the hell do you expect to sew one?"

It was evident to Jared that the man was asleep on his feet. Once he'd closed the door behind them, he moved forward and began to pull Jensen' clothes off. "You've been wearing these things for the past three days. It's more than time to put them into the laundry." Jared sniffed the t-shirt Jensen had been wearing and made a gagging sound. "Change of plan. Shower first, then bed," he announced as he unfastened Jensen’s belt and pulled the jeans down. His underwear came with them, and if Jared hadn't been ready to steady him, Jensen would have fallen flat on his face. Shaking his head at the state Jensen was in, Jared shepherded him towards the bathroom. "And Danneel says that tomorrow is a day off, so first you eat a good breakfast, and then you're going to take me shopping. There are things I need to buy. Do you realize I don't even have a coffee maker yet?"

Softly nagging Jensen, Jared coaxed him into the shower and encouraged him to get himself cleaned up, standing by with a large towel to dry him off. By the time Jensen was clean and dry and dressed in a pair of boxers — Jared's boxers — he was pretty much comatose. Jared tucked him into bed and kissed his hair as he heard the first snore come from the cocoon into which Jensen had buried himself.

Heading downstairs to the floor where Danneel was still working, Jared first got the laundry going and then went to beg a fresh set of clothing for when Jensen eventually woke up. Finally, as organized as he could be, Jared went back up to his apartment and climbed into bed beside his lover.

~*~ ~*~

In the end, Jensen slept for almost twelve hours. Jared had been for a run and eaten breakfast by the time he headed up the stairs with a large mug of coffee as an offering.

Jensen was still in bed, looking rumpled and grumpy as Jared ascended the ladder to his bedroom. He blinked owlishly at Jared and fumbled for his glasses, which were perilously close to the edge of the nightstand. Spotting the problem, Jared rushed forward to catch them as they began to fall and stood holding both glasses and coffee out to Jensen. 

Jensen took his glasses with a vague mumble that might possibly have been a “thank you” and got them situated. Then he reached for the mug that Jared was still holding. This time, the “thank you” was a little clearer, and Jensen buried his nose in it, inhaling appreciatively, then looked up at Jared with an accusing stare. "What time is it?"

"Just coming up to 10am," announced Jared after checking his watch.

"Why didn't you wake me?" A look of horror swept Jensen's features, and the glare intensified.

"Danneel told me to let you sleep." Jared said.

"Huh? Since when is she in charge?" Jensen frowned.

"Since she told me she'd have my guts for garters if I dared to wake you up," said Jared, unabashed. "And since you really, really needed the sleep. You were on your last legs."

"Well, I should get up now. I need to get back to work." Jensen swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "I need to finish that jacket for you."

"Woah! Hold on. Danneel told me that you'll be wearing your asshole like a necktie if she catches you anywhere the sewing room." Jared laughed, a faraway look in his eyes as he recalled the scene. "She already called David to come take Mark home if he didn't want him delivered in several pieces. He was here in less than five minutes, and Mark went like a lamb."

A visible shudder ran through Jensen's frame. "She's going to kill me, but I have to get that jacket finished." He rose to his feet and made for the bathroom to use the facilities. "If you can distract her for long enough..."

"Are you kidding me?" Jared's voice rose by a couple of octaves in protest. "I'm way too young to die. Finish it tomorrow, if it still needs it. That new recruit, Cindy, is working on it right now, and she's pretty damned impressive. It'll be fine."

A sad little noise came from the bathroom, where Jensen was now brushing his teeth. "Well, shit! I guess I have the day off." Jensen finally emerged from the bathroom and Jared indicated where he had put Jensen's fresh clothing.

It takes a strong man to admit defeat at the hands of a 125lb woman, but Jensen seemed to accept his fate without too much complaining. He sat down to pull on the fresh jeans and t-shirt, then reached for Jared and pulled him down to kiss. "Okay, what am I allowed to do today."

"Take me shopping for stuff for here. I need a bunch of stuff like plates and glasses, bedding and things like that. Hell, I need food and maybe a frying pan." Jared squeezed Jensen's hand. "After that we can do anything you like, but you have to be in bed by 10:00, or she won't let you into the sewing room tomorrow. She gave me strict orders."

"Fuck!" The expletive made Jared jump. "I don't understand women. Why do they take it on themselves to meddle when they aren't wanted? Doesn't she know how much I have riding on this show?" Jensen swallowed hard. "If it goes sideways, I may as well throw in the towel and go back home to Texas."

"It's not going to fail. You're gonna rule Fashion Week." Jared nodded. 

"Yeah, well..." Jensen rose to his feet. "Come on, Jay. You need to feed me before we go shopping. You can check out that Wayfair site, while I eat something."

~*~ ~*~

From Jared's point-of-view, it had been a wonderful day. The two of them had filled Jared's kitchen and his linen closet with items. There were curtains to hang, a couple of rugs to cover the hardwood and cushions to lounge against. There were dishes in the cupboards and huge, fluffy towels in the bathroom. Most importantly, there was food in the refrigerator. By the time Jared had unpacked everything and Jensen had hung up the curtains to his satisfaction, displaying the many new items Jared had chosen to make his place into a home, it was almost 6pm.

"I'm guessing you're hungry." Jensen was responding to the sound of Jared's stomach, gurgling as he straightened up. He put a hand on Jared's shoulder as he stood, surveying the transformation of the small apartment into something almost resembling a home. "Come on. Grab your jacket."

Jensen led him down the stairs and out into the yard. "We're gonna go for dinner before I am condemned to go to bed. I know just the place. We can grab a couple of drinks and see what's on the menu for tonight."

Olive or Twist was moderately empty as they walked in. David waved to them as they found a table and, seconds later, Julie was at their side. "Good evening, gentlemen. What can I get you?"

"Couple of beers would be good, thank you." Jensen beamed at her. "What's edible tonight?"

"Your boy here," smirked Julie. "But if you don't wanna share, try the prosciutto and brie stuffed chicken breast with apple reduction. Chef was swearing blue murder when he was putting that together, so it's got to be good."

"I'll try anything once," said Jared, looking at Jensen with one eyebrow raised. "Except for possibly being somebody's dessert. Not sure about that one."

Laughing, Jensen gave Julie a wink. "Sorry," he said. "If anyone is going to make a meal of him tonight, it's going to be me. We'll go for the chicken though. It sounds really good."  
The food was as delicious as Julie had indicated, and the evening flew by. David had come over to deposit a dessert for each of them and say hi before returning to his station behind the bar. By the time the two of them had finished eating, the bar was packed, and as Jensen rose to his feet to go and pay the bill a band was setting up at one end of the room and it was pretty much standing room only.

Jared crowded behind Jensen as Jensen led the way through the crowd and back out onto the street, where a light drizzle had set in.

"Wish we could've stayed," murmured Jensen as they made their way back to the atelier. 

"Hey!" Jared swung him around so they were facing each other. "There's gonna be plenty of time for that next week." His eyes searched Jensen's face, cataloguing the effects of the rain and the sodium glare. Jensen looked other-worldly, beads of moisture glowed silver on his hair, and his features were all shadows and silver, the planes of his face sharply drawn. 

Jared drew in a breath, then lifted his hands to cup Jensen's face and turn it up towards him. "Next week, you'll be able to do anything you want," he said, and bent to kiss Jensen, the tip of his tongue tracing Jensen's with tiny flicks.

Jensen groaned softly, and Jared locked his mouth around Jensen's lower lip, with a slow drag of teeth that made Jensen suck in a breath and then pull away with a gasp. "Come on! I've got a curfew, remember?"

Back at the atelier, Jensen shook his head, dislodging the moisture there and grinning at Jared, whose protest was cut short as he drank in the sight of him.

"God, Jen," Jared whispered, brushing a thumb across Jensen's cheekbone. "Want you."

They made their way stealthily past the office, where the light showed that someone — Danneel — was still hard at work, and then their feet pounded as they ran up the stairs, laughing like little kids as they went.

Tugging at the cotton of Jensen's shirt, Jared hauled him in, biting that succulent lower lip again, and Jensen snorted out a chuckle as he pushed a hand up under Jared's shirt, skin on skin at last, sucked in Jared's tongue and trembled as the kiss went from fucking sweet to dirty hot and rough in a quarter of a second.

"Come on," Jensen broke away, shoved Jared towards the ladder. "In bed by 10:00, remember."

Laughing, Jared followed, big hands shoving at Jensen's ass as he climbed, slapping at his buttock before clambering up after him.

Falling onto the bed together, Jared rolled onto his back and pulled Jensen on top of him, breathless pause as he felt the weight of him hard against his groin, stealing his coherent thoughts and replacing them with a heat that flared suddenly and consumed him. There was a pause for just a moment, Jared smiled, then pulled their bodies even tighter together and rolled his hips, gasping along with Jensen as they slid together. Jared was on fire, the compact strength of Jensen's body against his driving need for more. He arched up against Jensen, wanting, fucking crazy with need. Jensen reared up, fingers fumbling at his clothes as he tried to get his pants off, and stopping part way, distracted as Jared writhed under him. 

Fumbling, the offending clothes were somehow discarded, tossed to the ground somewhere. Jared pulled Jensen down again, biting at Jensen's jaw, rasp of stubble against teeth as his mouth found its way to Jensen's ear to whisper loving filth there.

Pressed together, bodies rutting, sticky with need, all finesse forgotten, Jared cried out as he felt his balls draw up tight. "Oh, fuck, Jensen! Fuck!" Jensen's fingers tightened in Jared's hair, every tingling slither of their bodies driving that delicious ache higher and higher until he couldn't... It was too much. His muscles tightened and locked, and he just exploded, heart pounding and the need to breathe forgotten as he clung on to Jensen like he wouldn't ever be able to let him go again. Dimly, he heard Jensen cry out, and felt heat and sticky wet on his belly as Jensen contributed to the mess between them.

There was a moment when Jared was convinced that he would never be able to move again. He clung to Jensen, unable to find the words to tell him that he was dead now and forever, and that Jensen was dead too, because he would never be able to let him go.

Jensen seemed to be in a similar state when the world around Jared stopped rocking and resumed its regular path through space. There were shaky breaths and little gasps as each of them experimented with the need for air and finally found the way, easy in and out.

"God, Jared. What did you do to me?" Jensen's voice was raw, his breathing still a little ragged.

"I don't know. I think we left a few steps out. It isn't usually like that."

"Guess we're gonna have to practice until we get it right." Jared kissed the smirk off Jensen's face and rolled to make his way into the bathroom.

"I'm game," he called over his shoulder as he cleaned himself up and moistened one of his new towels to take back to Jensen. "Whenever you want a rematch."

~*~ ~*~

The morning of their show arrived all too soon. Jensen was a bundle of nerves, and even though Jared usually had a calming effect on him he felt himself twitching and sweating as he got himself dressed and ran downstairs to help Mark get everything packed up to take to the venue.

He'd been up and fretting long before the dawn, despite Jared's attempts to soothe him, and Danneel had needed to take Jared aside and caution him not to try too hard to calm him down.

"He'll just get mad at you, Sweetie. I've known him forever, and I assure you that nobody has ever been able to get him out of one of these moods. He'll be fine once he's reassured that everything is going to work the way he wants it to."

Jensen was putting the racks of clothing in the van and swearing up a blue streak as he hunted for the box of shoes that would be needed for each change of outfit when Mark finally arrived.

"What time do you call this? Where have you been?" Jensen yelled as Mark sauntered into the atelier, mug of coffee in hand, yawning widely.

"It's 8am, if you care to check your timepiece, dumbass. Spring Studios doesn't even open until 9am, and the show isn't until 2 pm." The sleepy smile Mark gave him betrayed the fact that he too was running on very little sleep. "Take a chill pill — in fact, take two. Everything is as ready as it's going to be. Sandy's going straight to the studio. She's volunteered to be a runner if we need anything, but we won't, because she and Cindy got everything in order yesterday, and Cindy went through the whole inventory with me this morning. Danni's going to pick up the stylist at 10am. The caterers will get there at noon. What else do you need?"

"I can't find the shoes. We can't go on without the shoes. Where are the shoes?" Jensen flapped his hands as he attempted to convey the urgency of the need.

"Jeez! Settle down before you give yourself a heart attack!" Mark put an arm around Jensen's shoulders and led him back into the office, pointing at the large box labeled 'SHOES" that was standing just behind the door. "Check it out. I suspect that there might be shoes in there," he said. "Take a seat before you fall down."

He took a good look at Jensen and frowned, then pulled out his phone and called Jared. "Yo, Padalecki! Get down here and take care of your boy, before he frets himself into an early grave. He's having a conniption down here." 

Jensen didn't hear what Jared's reply was, but it must have been satisfactory, because Mark gave a little nod to himself and moved behind Danneel's desk to pull out the crystal decanter she kept there for visitors. Pouring a large scotch, he handed it to Jensen, then on second thought poured a second glass and finally tipped a healthy portion into his coffee.

"Here. Drink up and calm down. Once Jared gets down here, you and he are going to go over to the bar, where Davy has already made you two a good breakfast. He's under strict instructions to make sure you eat it, and that you don't come back here before nine thirty at the earliest."

"Where's Danni?" asked Jensen, his voice somewhat calmer as he sipped at his drink.

"If you'll remember, she stayed at Aldis's place last night, but she'll be at the studio with Katie by 10:30. Did you load up the steamer and my toolbox? Or just the clothes?" Mark hovered at the doorway to the yard, not wanting to leave Jensen alone until Jared got there. 

Fortunately, the thundering sound of Jared descending the stairs could be heard long before he made an appearance in the office, and as he bounced in wearing sweats and a new beanie, Mark finally relaxed and handed Jared the second glass. "Okay. Jared, your job, should you choose to accept it, is to take Jensen over to the bar and feed him breakfast. He is not to come back here until everything is loaded up and ready to go. Clif is going to drive the truck and there's a limo booked for you guys for 10am, okay?"

There seemed to be nothing else for Jared to do except nod and head for the pub, towing the protesting Jensen along with him.

~*~ ~*~

Danni and the stylist arrived at the studio just as Jensen was beginning to melt down all over again, having arrived ten minutes before her. She had stopped off to pick up Sandy as well, and the team was fully assembled, with the three models practicing on the runway and dissolving into giggles as Jared brought the attention to his beanie as he strutted his stuff. Katie, who had forbidden him to wear it until after the show, rolled her eyes and then shrugged. "Boys!" she grumbled.

Mark had inventoried all the clothing for what felt like the 97th time and was laying out his tools — hand-stitcher, assorted threads, pins, needles and steam iron — while Sandy was putting up the ironing board. Having set up his workstation and made sure that all the clothing was in order, along with the accessories for each outfit and the details of how it should be shown, Mark gave a heavy sigh. His part was done until just before the show, but there was still Jensen to wrangle. He hoped that Danni would assume some of the work of keeping Jensen from climbing the walls. As far as he was concerned, he'd just as soon give him knock out drops!

He was saved from having to intervene by Katie Cassidy, their stylist, who called Jensen over to get him ready for the press conference that would happen at noon. Katie was a determined lady and very soon she had Jensen cowed, sitting in the chair while she trimmed his hair, buffed his nails and slapped a facemask onto him that put an end to his lamentations as it stiffened. That was just the beginning and Jared, who was sitting beside him watching with trepidation, had to admire the no-nonsense way she handled his highly-strung lover.

After the face mask came off, there was a shave, after shave, lotion, moisturizer, foundation, and finally cosmetics that appeared only to make Jensen look even more stunning without being able to tell just what was different. By the time Katie told him to go and put on his suit, it was almost time for the press conference, and there was no longer any time for panic.

Jared helped him into his crisp, white shirt and elegant suit of dove grey silk, then watched as Jensen tied his tie of lavender silk and slipped his feet into the gleaming, shiny, grey leather loafers and then there was no more time. Danneel came to lead him out and introduce him to the press who clustered round him, asking him about his transition from model to designer and which he liked better and trying to pry information about his collection from him.

Jared turned back and left him to it, fascinated by the way Katie worked and intrigued to see how she would transform him into someone new when it was his turn.

Adrianne was in the chair, for the moment a blank canvas as Katie discussed the clothing she'd be wearing with Mark. Both Adrianne and Aisha had arrived wearing sweats and with their hair bundled up into messy pony tails, and as Katie nodded to Mark and turned back to begin her work, Aisha came to join Jared, elbowing him in the ribs to get him to move over and give her some space to sit and watch the process.

"I think when this is over, and I can't model any more, I want to do this stuff. It always amazes me how you can transform someone from ordinary plain jane to goddess without any clue in the finished product." She grinned at him. "Even you will be transformed."

"Great. I always wanted to be a goddess," muttered Jared, shushing her as Katie began to work on Adrianne's skin.

~*~ ~*~

The audience was beginning to settle into their seats and glasses of champagne were being passed out by the catering staff when Jared peeked through a gap in the curtains. As promised, he could see Matt, elegant as usual, standing with a tall, dark-haired man. Jared was wearing his first outfit, a casual, sporty number in pale colors that was form-fitting other than its billowing sleeves, but wonderfully easy to move in.

Mark was standing by, ready to change the models, and Sandy stood at the opening to the runway to deliver cues to them as they performed.

Sandy was dashing about, fetching and carrying all the odds and ends that never seemed to be at hand when needed when she apparently caught sight of the audience through the gap. She turned and ran to Mark, jumping up and down like a six-year-old and actually squealing. “They’re here! They’re _all_ here!”

“Who’s here, love?” Mark asked, calm when faced with the hysterical girl. He gestured toward a chair and handed Sandy a glass of water. “Drink this, and then tell me what’s going on.” 

“Bloomingdales, Barney’s, Henri Bendel, all of them!” Sandy answered breathlessly, but in a slightly less screechy tone. “Even Harrods is here!”

“Oh my God!” Mark exclaimed, only slightly less ecstatic than Sandy. He plopped down into the chair next to Sandy, poured another glass of water, then drank it all in one gulp. “I knew Jensen was talking to Saks, but Harrods of London? Harrods is going to be looking at my work? Oh my God!” 

“Saks Fifth Avenue is out there too,” Sandy said, in something close to her normal tone. “And Harvey Nichols, and Bergdorf Goodman, and others I didn’t recognize. All sitting right up front.” 

“Oh my God!” Mark repeated, before pouring and draining another glass of water. It didn’t seem to help, and Jared thought Mark might hyperventilate before the show even started at this rate.

“I’m guessing all these people being here is a good thing,” Jared said, hoping he could get their heads back into the show. “But we’ve got a show to put on.” 

“Oh, yes,” Mark said, suddenly completely focused again. He clapped his hands and chivvied everyone back to their places. 

Jensen was somewhere in the auditorium with a guy called Richard, a fashion reporter friend of Danneel’s, who was going to discuss the clothes as they were announced. Jensen would be available to give the details whenever called upon to do so — what Jared had mockingly referred to as the color commentary — and Jared hoped above all that his lover would be able to cope with the audience reaction, however good or bad it might be.

The music started to play. Both Adrianne and Aisha took their positions as Mark hissed, "Places, guys!" and the audience quietened, breathless anticipation palpable in the air as the lights went up.

Aisha and Adrianne stepped out onto the runway together wearing the same design, the perfect foil for each other, Aisha in white and Adrianne in black as they moved down the catwalk together, each looking stunning as they pretended to be searching for someone. After a few minutes where they subtly displayed their sporting ensemble while acting out trying to find someone, they shrugged and left the stage, and at last it was Jared's turn. 

He ran onto the stage, madly checking his watch as though he was late, turning this way and that way as he pretended to search for the girls. Then he stopped, apparently noticing that there was an audience. 

This had been rehearsed over and over again, Jared would play with the audience for the whole four minutes and 20 seconds it would take Mark to get Adrianne changed and into her next dress, and ensure that there were no embarrassing moments where nothing was happening on the runway. He performed beautifully, pretending to spot a rather large blonde lady and thinking she was Adrianne, running up to her, then realizing it was not the person he was looking for and shaking his head sadly. He kissed her hand before walking back to the center of the catwalk dejectedly, and the audience chuckled. The murmurs of appreciation began with his first appearance, but as he turned to go backstage once more it rose and became applause, which mounted as he left the stage.

Adrianne took the stage, and Aisha made herself ready to go as Jared pulled on his next outfit and turned to Mark for his approval, while Katie tweaked his hair back into a semblance of order. Gone was the reluctance to skin down to his underwear. There just wasn't time for modesty now.

With each successive outfit, the applause became louder, and there were cheers as Jared appeared each time. The two men in the commentary booth were talking about him now, Jensen telling the audience how he'd found Jared and instantly known that he was the perfect man to show off his designs. 

"I think that male models recently have been a little feminine, somewhat androgynous, but I needed a guy who could never be mistaken for female and who would bring with him that little hint of danger." Jensen sounded relaxed and confident as he was speaking, and Jared beamed his widest smile as he relaxed right along with him. "Jared is so big and strong, any woman would feel just a little vulnerable beside him. He's all man, and inhabits my designs perfectly."

The commentary continued as Jared turned to leave, and he could hear Jensen holding forth about the need for more color in men's outfits. He had incorporated jewel colors into all of his menswear, and the current suit that Jared had on was a great example in sage green silk, with a pale apricot shirt and darker tie.

Backstage, everything seemed to be running like clockwork. The collection seemed to be a great success, listening to the cheers and applause that greeted each fresh offering. Mark was grinning as he put the finishing touches to Adrianne's final outfit, which was a beautiful scarlet silk evening gown trimmed with soft white feathers that frothed around her decolletage and made her head and neck appear as though she were rising up from foam. Meanwhile, Aisha had climbed into the last dress she would be showing.

The piece de resistance at most fashion shows is the wedding dress, and Jensen's wedding dress design was spectacular. Aisha was wearing a cream silk gown with antique gold lace that spilled out over her shoulders and arms and down the front of the plunge neckline. Hastily, Jared struggled into his wedding suit, relying on Sandy to collect what he had been wearing and hang it up.

Jensen had designed his suit to be form fitting, with a rich dark red velvet, so dark that it was almost black, and pants of the same that fit him very tightly.

The jacket was frogged with hints of red and the neckline and pockets were also picked out in red. He wore long, highly polished black boots on his feet that gave him a military air, and just as he was about to take the stage, Sandy handed him the gloves he was to wear to complete the outfit. Pulling them on as Adrianne came back, he walked the length of the runway and positioned himself to await Aisha, the bride.

There had been gasps as Jared moved along the stage, but they paled to insignificance as Aisha made her appearance. As she walked along the 'aisle', applause began, and when she came to stand beside Jared, Richard stopped trying to talk. The noise was so great. As the rose petals which had been stowed in a net up in the ceiling were released, Jared pushed back Aisha's veil and dipped her back into a kiss. Finally, as the applause died at last, they turned and walked slowly back to the curtain arm in arm. They were done.

Jensen and Danni would remain out in the auditorium to mingle with the patrons and make nice, but behind the scenes, the crew was free to celebrate. Champagne was brought in along with a selection of the delicious finger food the patrons were being offered, and the atmosphere was joyful. They wouldn't know until all the critics had given their final opinions, but they had certainly been a success with the audience, and the audience had been filled with store buyers, journalists and editors who had loved the show. Things looked favorable.

They drank several toasts, to Mark, who was the glue that held the volatile assortment of individuals together and kept them focused on the tasks in front of them; to Jensen, out there doing his best to make them all wealthy; to the rest of them, without whom none of this could possibly have happened.

Cleanup went smoothly and before long all the clothing had been packed up and stowed in the van ready to go back to the atelier. Both Aisha and Adrianne had drunk a lot of champagne, and Jared, who wasn't really a fan of the drink, had been helping Mark with his flask of whisky. Sandy had packed up and gone out to mingle with the audience that was still milling around, discussing the show. Katie was stowing her cosmetics and tools, prior to heading out, and Clif, sober as ever, lounged back in an easy chair, waiting to ferry all their baggage home.

~*~ ~*~

Aisha was tired. They were all winding down from the excitement of earlier, and Adrianne, giggling at something Mark had whispered into her ear, suddenly staggered a little and announced that she needed to step outside for a moment or so to clear her head.

"God, I shouldn't have had that last glass of champagne," she said, slurring a little. She pressed a tipsy kiss to Mark's cheek and giggled at the perfect mouth shape that she had left there. 

"Okay. Gonna go sit on the step and clear my head for a minute," she said. "You coming?" 

Aisha nodded and turned to follow her as she made her way along the corridor to the backstage doorway pulling it open and drawing in a deep breath.

It was silent, away from the hubbub, and Adrianne stretched her body with a purr of pleasure before she dropped to take a seat on the metal step. The day was almost done, and twilight was settling on New York as streetlamps flickered on. There was still a slight drizzle in the air, and it created a glitter on the otherwise mundane street. Aisha moved forward, about to take her seat beside her best friend, when there was a loud bang, and she was thrown backwards, pain blossoming in her shoulder as she fell against the wall. 

She must have blacked out for a moment, because her next memory was of Adrianne screaming and kicking at the two men who were manhandling her away from the studio and into a van that had a bakery logo on the side.

It was a minute before she could get back to her feet, her head throbbing where it had smacked against the wall, and her shoulder on fire from the wound she'd sustained. All traces of fatigue and alcohol had left her system as she stumbled back to where Mark was sitting.

"Adrianne... she's gone. That asshole took her," she said, and then passed out.

~*~ ~*~

Bedlam ensued. Mark summoned Jensen and Danneel, and Aldis, who had been in the audience with Danneel, took it upon himself to accompany her. This turned out to be a really good thing, since he knew far more about Adrianne's nemesis than any of them.

Mark had knelt to discover what had happened to Aisha, and cradled her on his lap, while Jared, seeing blood, had dialed 911, and was in the act of summoning an ambulance. As Jensen came running through the curtain to reach them, Clif stepped up to prevent avid reporters from following. As Aisha regained consciousness, Mark wrapped her in some of the quilted padding that was supposed to protect the collection during its journey to the show.

"What happened? Where's Adrianne?" Jensen dropped to his knees beside the wounded model, and Aisha gazed up at him with tear-stained eyes. "That asshole... He took her."

"You mean Collins?" Jensen bit his lip. "Any idea where?"

Aisha shook her head, then moaned as the movement hurt her. "He had men... Hit her... Threw her in a van."

"Did you see the van?" asked Jensen at the same time as Mark asked if she'd seen the number plate.

"White van..." Aisha gasped as her injured shoulder was joggled. “Buns on the Run," she said, and then promptly passed out.

"What the hell?" Mark ground his teeth in rage as he held her as carefully as he could, while Jensen began to pace.

"Buns on the Run? Is that some kind of sandwich shop?" Jensen seemed to be beside himself. Jared had his phone out again and was googling the name to see what came up, when Aldis stepped forward.

"I know where they'll have taken her." As everyone turned to look at him, he nodded. "That place is a front for his operations. He's been operating out of there for the past couple of months. I know he's running girls, but he seems to have his fingers into a whole lot of other things. Drugs, guns, all kinds of stuff. The cops have raided it twice but they say they haven't found anything. We're pretty sure he's paying someone higher up in the force to tip him off."

"What are we waiting for?" Jensen's normally placid face was a mask of fury. "We need to go find him right now and convince him that Adrianne is off limits." 

At that moment, the paramedics arrived, pulling into the parking area beside the stage door and Aisha was swiftly immobilized and loaded into the ambulance. Jensen turned to Danneel. "Danni, please can you go with her and let us know where they take her. I'll be along as soon as I can."

Nodding, she hurried to talk to the paramedics, and was permitted to climb into the back of the ambulance, which took off with lights flashing and siren howling its warning into the night.

"Right," said Jensen. "Guess I'd better go and make a statement. Then, I'm going to find Addie."

"Count me in." Jared stepped forward. "She's my friend."

Mark said nothing, merely nodded, looking grim, and Aldis, who had remained quietly in the background while the paramedics were there, suddenly stepped forward too. "You're going to need me. I'm coming too. Besides, I've been working on this for months. Can't leave me out now."

"Okay. Just give me a couple of minutes." Jensen was about to step through the curtain into the auditorium, when Jared grabbed hold of his hand and pulled him in to give him a swift kiss on the lips. "Be right back." Jensen was smiling as he turned back and disappeared into the main hall, where he could be heard calling for a moment's silence.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry to cut the festivities short, but unfortunately, I have to leave. One of my models has been taken to hospital, and I need to go. I promise that I'll catch up with y'all tomorrow and bring you up to speed on what's going on, but in the meantime, please continue to enjoy the party. Richard is a better host than I'll ever be, so enjoy, and I'll be available to brief you tomorrow at noon."

There was a silence as he turned to leave the catwalk, and then a renewed hubbub as people began to digest his announcement. Jensen beckoned to the others as he moved through the backstage area, asking Clif to get all the remaining gear into the van and take it back to the atelier.

~*~ ~*~

"We'll take my car." As Jensen opened his mouth to protest Aldis's words, Jared nudged him.

"He needs to be the driver. He knows the way." Jensen nodded, and no further words were spoken as the four grim-faced men made their way over to where Aldis had parked his Audi. Piling in, they took off, just as several reporters appeared around the side of the building.

"It's up on the waterfront, in the Bronx," explained Aldis as he wove his way through the evening traffic. "I got to hear about it when I followed a lead an informant gave me about some missing Russian girls. One of them turned up dead, and that's when I first came up against Collins and his bunch of gangbangers. Like I said, he's known to the police, but so far, they haven't managed to get him on anything. He's definitely paying someone off, but as yet, whoever it is has remained secret. For the last few weeks I've been poking around, just waiting for the right piece of information so I can blow the whistle on him."

The road opened out a little more as they hit the 9A and headed north towards the Bronx, and they were able to pick up speed. Jared had been thinking furiously. Finally, he leant forward. "At least one of those guys has a gun. How are we going to do anything? Shouldn't we just get the cops involved?"

"If we do that, they'll probably kill her." Mark sounded very unlike his usual confident self. "We can't let them kill her. Please hurry." He sniffed, and Jared could hear the emotion in his voice.

"We'll find her." Jensen sounded definite. "Guns or not, we'll find her."

"I gave her such a hard time." Mark was crying now, blinking back tears as he spoke, and Jared felt himself tear up as he thought about Adrianne in the red silk, gliding down the runway earlier.

Aldis turned onto West 96th to cross over towards the East River and FDR Drive, heading towards the shipyards. "I'll park a block away, and we can take a look around before we decide what the best course of action is," he said, and laid on his horn as he shot past a slow-moving truck.

It was a good 45 minutes before Aldis pulled his car into the parking lot of a burger joint  
called Milk Burger, which promised specialty burgers, and the four of them began to work out a plan of attack. The bakery was a half a block east of them, and appeared to be unoccupied, or at least there were no lights showing from where they sat...

"The problem is that they have weapons and we don't," said Jensen.

"I've got my sewing scissors," announced Mark, shrugging. "Seemed like a good idea."

"There's the tire iron and a jack handle in the trunk," said Aldis.

"Well, I've got a pocketknife." Jensen fumbled in his pocket and produced the knife. "I guess it's not much, but it's better than nothing." 

"We should walk around and see if there's any way in at the back. If they actually see us, we're dead meat anyway." Jared grinned. It seemed that putting himself in mortal danger was something that got him excited. 

"Agreed." Mark nodded. "Stealth rules."

Jared stayed close to Jensen, hoping against hope that he could keep him safe, and that Adrianne would be okay when they found her. He shook that thought off, and focused on the plan.

~*~ ~*~

"Let's go." Jensen matched his deeds to his words by getting out of the car, while Aldis hopped out and went to see what he had in the trunk that might make a decent weapon. After a search through the contents, they ended up with a couple of heavy wrenches and a set of bolt cutters as well as the tire iron and jack handle. So armed, they worked their way onto the street behind the bakery and began to creep along in the shadows towards their goal.

The back of the bakery was surrounded by a 6-foot wall that was topped with razor wire. Fortunately, there was a dumpster that was close enough that Jared could clamber up onto it and reach to cut through the wire and clear a space through which they could then get over the wall and into the back yard.

Jensen, carrying the rope and wrench from the trunk of Aldis's car, had been the last to climb up onto the dumpster, and had to crouch down as a man carrying a semi-automatic at the ready rounded the corner, obviously on patrol. As the man passed, apparently oblivious to his presence, Jensen made a swift decision. Setting the wrench aside, he slid down from the dumpster and wound one end of the rope around the goon's neck. Swiftly pulling it tight, he pressed his lips to the hapless man's ear and hissed, "Drop it."

The gun clattered to the ground, and the man had both hands up, attempting to get himself free from the rope that was strangling him. Hearing the struggle, Jared reappeared on the wall, and dropped back down beside the two of them. 

As the thug — at least Jensen hoped he was one of the bad guys — lost consciousness, the two of them made haste to gag him using a piece of the rope and one of Jared's socks, and tied him up with his wrists and ankles securely roped together.

"We now have a gun," whispered Jensen as he picked the weapon up.

"Two, actually," muttered Jared with a grin, pulling a small revolver from the man's jacket along with his ID, wallet, phone, and a bunch of keys. "Can we toss him in the dumpster? Please?" 

"I'm beginning to think that you'd be really happy with a life of crime." Jensen looked up to see Aldis peering over the wall and gestured that they were coming, and that all was well. "Shove him behind it for now. We'll throw him in when we come back, if..." He stopped talking then, realizing that they were still outnumbered, and there was only the faint chance that they would be able to get Adrianne free."

Coiling up the remains of the rope and pulling himself up onto the wall again, he climbed into the backyard of the bakery, swiftly followed by Jared.

Mark had been trying the door and windows to see if they could gain access that way, but they all seemed to be secure. "Anyone know how to pick a lock?"

The three others all blinked at him and shook their heads as one, and then Jared suddenly produced the keys he'd taken from thug number one. "Here," he said, handing them to Mark. "Worth a try."

The group of four all held their breath as Mark tried each of the keys, and when one of them actually fit and the door swung open, there was a gasp that emanated from all of them.

"Holy shit!" breathed Mark as he pulled the door towards him and ghosted through it. Following behind him, Jensen wasn't quite sure what to do with his gun but clung to it anyway, hoping he at least was holding the thing the right way up.

"Anyone here know how to fire one of these things?" he asked, hopefully. "It wasn't part of the John Casablanca modeling course I took, back in the day."

Mark shook his head. "Better not let me near it. If I come across that piece of shit, I'm likely to blast his head off for hurting my girl."

None of the others seemed excited by the prospect of wielding it, and in the end, Aldis gave a sigh, took it and slung the thing over his shoulder. As if one, they made their way along the corridor that led towards the store front, peering into an empty kitchen that didn't seem to have been used for baking since the last century if the debris and insect life were any indication.

The storefront proved to be devoid of life too, but in an alcove at the rear was a staircase, and Mark, tire iron in hand, led the way up them, treading silently for such a large man. Jensen followed behind, and then Aldis. Jared brought up the rear, making sure that nobody surprised them. There were two locked doors on the second floor. Mark tried the keys he'd been given earlier, but none of them fit. They were about to keep on going up, when they heard shouting, and a woman's voice raised in supplication.

"That's her," hissed Mark, and kicked at the door, bursting the lock and sending the door halfway across the room. Collins was in the act of flicking the air out of a large syringe as Mark burst through the door. Adrianne lay on the floor, hands tied to a pipe above her head. She had evidently been beaten. There was a huge bruise that had turned the left side of her face a rich deep purple. Her clothes were torn, and there were cuts and bruises elsewhere on her body. She was crying, little hopeless sobs as the tears ran down her face unchecked.

"Put it down." Jared indicated the syringe with a flick of his revolver. "Put it down right now." Mark had his scissors out, cutting the ropes that held Adrianne, and it was left to Jensen to go and pick up the syringe that lay on the bench where Collins had laid it.

"Where do you want it? Arm? No. I think your ass would be best. Drop 'em." Jensen's jaw was set, and his tone was icy cold.

Collins's eyes opened wide. "You can't do that. It would be murder."

"Oh, well." Jensen smirked. "Them's the breaks."

Collins turned, hands going to his fly, but as Jensen relaxed a little, he ran to a door on the opposite side of the room and through it. Aldis, who had yelled "Freeze!" in his best TV cop voice was still looking for the safety on the semi-automatic. Realizing that there was no real point, he tossed the thing behind him with a curse. Jensen brandished the syringe and leaped after Collins, followed by Aldis and then Jared. There was a further flight of stairs after that, but they were still behind Collins as he kept climbing.

There was a door at the top of the next flight, and Collins slammed it shut, but too late to secure it against his pursuers. Jensen charged it with his shoulder, and they burst out onto the roof. With nowhere left to run, Collins turned to face them.

"Oh, you lost your gun," he said, making an exaggerated sad face.

"He doesn't need one." Jensen held up the syringe. "Jared's got one that'll do perfectly." 

"Sure do," agreed Jared, dimples popping as he smiled. "There's a bullet in it that's especially for guys that hurt my friends." He took a step forward, and Collins stepped back.

"I'm sure he'd rather take a trip." Jensen's answering smile was all teeth and no humor. "This little beauty will have him flying higher than the fucking moon."

Collins turned, but there was nowhere for him to run. On the one side there was the edge of the roof, with only a 3-foot parapet surrounding it. On the other were the three men.

"Look. I won't mess with her again, Okay? I'll forgive her debt. I promise I won't touch her again. She’s not even worth my time. Just don't pump me full of that stuff." Even as he was speaking, Jensen squirted a little of the liquid out of the syringe and sniffed at it.

"Oh, my God! It's bleach!" he growled. "You were going to kill her." 

Stepping forward, he lunged for Collins, and the man flinched backwards again, climbing up onto the parapet, looking to see if he could escape that way to the next building." He'd obviously seen something that gave him hope, because he took a couple of steps, then turned back to give his pursuers a sly smirk, as if daring them to move closer. "Don't come any nearer. I'll jump."

"Jump then," said Jensen. "Jump and be damned." He took a step forward and reached to grab Collins by his arm. Dancing backwards out of his reach, Misha Collins stepped on a piece of brickwork that had crumbled a little and fumbled his footing. For a moment, it looked as if he would regain his balance, but the brickwork of the parapet had seen better days, and another brick was dislodged by his stumbling feet. 

All three of them watched as Collins plummeted down five stories to land with a crunch on the flagstones below. He didn't get up.

After a minute's stunned silence, the three men turned and went back down to find Mark and Adrianne.

Mark had called 911 by the time they returned to where Adrianne had been held, and he looked up as they returned to the room. "Cops are on the way, and so is the ambulance." There were tear tracks on his cheek. "She'll be gorgeous again soon. You'll see."

~*~ ~*~

First responders had arrived to take care of Adrianne, and she was very soon immobilized and placed on a stretcher, prior to being taken off to be patched up. It was determined that she had sustained a broken collar bone along with her bruising, but otherwise she didn't have any serious injuries. Mark had gone with her, abandoning the three of them to their fate.

Aldis, Jared, and Jensen had been taken to the local precinct to give their statements and had been kept separate until after they had been grilled by the two detectives who had been assigned to the case. It was almost two in the morning by the time they were allowed to leave the station after being told not to leave town. Both of them thanked Aldis for being a part of the events and then went to hail a cab.

By the time they had made their way home again, Jared thought that if he were able to get into his bed, he would never be able to get out of it again. The day had been so long and eventful that his head was spinning.

Jensen gazed at him for a few minutes and then bundled him into the office. "You look completely bagged, Jay," he murmured. "Let's take a nightcap upstairs with us and see if we can't get some sleep. We can have at least one drink to celebrate the show's success. ‘House of Ackles’ is a sensation, Adrianne is free from that asshole, and Danneel actually approves of me being a bit more assertive."

"Sounds wonderful. I'd hate it if she disapproved. That woman is terrifying in her wrath," said Jared around a yawn as Jensen snagged Danneel's good scotch from the cabinet.

Together they climbed the stairs to Jared's apartment, and once there, Jensen went into the kitchenette and found two of Jared’s brand-new glasses. Splashing scotch into them, he brought them back to Jared, who had sunk into the couch and was yawning mightily again.

"Cheers." they clinked their glasses and sipped, and then Jensen bent to kiss Jared. "Let's go up. We can take the drinks with us." 

Jared nodded and made for the ladder to the sleeping loft, drink in hand. Jensen was close behind, and Jared snickered. "Checking out my ass again? Pervert!"

"Hey, don't knock it. I'm _your_ pervert.” Jensen waited until Jared reached the top of the ladder and bent to climb onto the platform and then leaned forward to bite his left butt cheek.

Jared yelped and almost sat on Jensen's head. Jensen gave a shout of laughter and bundled Jared up onto the decking, hurrying to climb after him and cover his body, taking his mouth in a hard, juicy kiss.

"I've got the perfect way to make sure you sleep," he said and ground his pelvis against Jared. Jared, suddenly, was wide awake, feeling his dick swell in response to the hard presence that he could feel in Jensen's pants. 

As their bodies pressed closer and closer together Jared felt the worry and stress of the evening disappear. The warmth and strength of Jensen's body made him shiver. Looking up, Jensen’s face was mainly dark in the shadows, but his eyes glittering and the planes of his forehead and cheekbones stood out, illuminated faintly from the lamp on the level below. His fingers slithered under his t-shirt to splay across Jared's broad back.

"I think I’m in love with you, idiot," Jared whispered when they broke from the kiss to get some air.

"How much?" He could see Jensen’s teeth shine as he grinned.

"Too much, you life ruiner! I’m in over my head."

Jensen's hips pushed against him, urgent for friction, and Jared moaned weakly. He had thought that he was tired, but now all he could think of was Jensen, smooth skin and hard muscle flush against him. He fumbled for words and then growled and tracked down Jensen's mouth again, kissing and biting at the plump lips in lieu of begging for what he wanted.

More kisses, deep and wet and luscious, and Jensen gave back as good as he was getting, rolling his hips against Jared, bringing tingling sweetness to flicker along his groin.

They were both gasping by the time Jensen scrambled to his feet and tugged Jared up, swiveling with his body, hip checking him in a perfect throw that resulted in Jared landing on his stomach on the bed, laughing weakly.

"Fucking caveman! Gonna possess me utterly?" Jared smirked over his shoulder at Jensen, a challenge in his eyes.

"Yeah, you, and your little dog, too." Jensen grinned and reached to unfasten Jared's pants, hauling them off and tossing them over his shoulder then crowded into Jared's space, chest hot and firm against Jared's back, rigid dick nestling in the crack of Jared's ass as his hand slid down to take hold of Jared's leaking cock. "Want you, Jay. Gonna let me fuck you? I promise not to leave out any of the steps this time."

"God, man, what are you waiting for?" Jared was panting, his voice a mere exhale as he pushed back against Jensen's cock, and he rolled forward, raising his butt and spreading his legs wantonly, shimmying his behind to and fro as he waited.

Jensen could only slide his fingers down the cleft and follow up with his tongue, licking, slicking the way into him as he groped for the lube he knew was under Jared's pillow and then slowly began to lube Jared up, ready.

"Come on." Jared was begging now, urging Jensen on until he could feel the blunt, slippery heat of Jensen's cock finally began to enter him. Reaching his hands back he gripped Jensen's ass to dig his fingers in. Urgent fingers demanded that Jensen would drive himself home at last.

Despite his urging, Jensen's first thrust caught Jared off guard, and he cried out, as Jensen caught hold of his cock and began to squeeze and pump it, rough fingers sliding on silky skin to send flickers of pleasure deep into him.

Jared couldn't last; it was too much. The pooling of sweet pressure deep in his gut tightened his muscles, pulling them in, a ball of white heat in his groin that suddenly burst, sending a flash flood of shivery delight along his spine as he came and came and came. Moments later, Jensen 's thrusts became erratic, and he followed Jared, finally slumping down over Jared’s sweaty back with a muttered curse. They lay there for a long time, joined, sticky with wet and come and blissfully happy. There was a smile on Jensen's face — Jared could feel it against his shoulder blade.

Once he'd learned how to breathe again, Jensen hauled himself up to get a damp towel and cleaned them both, and then fell into the bed, pulling the duvet over them both. As Jared rolled to fold his arms around Jensen, he yawned one last time and murmured, "Goodnight."

"I love you," slurred Jensen.

"I know," snickered Jared, and then there were only faint snores.

The morning would come soon enough. Jensen would discover whether or not his collection had translated into orders, and if he would be a success or not. They would both face the press, and there would very likely be repercussions over Misha Collins’s death. Life would go on, but for now they were together, and whatever came next, they would face it that way.

**Author's Note:**

> Every year, the amazing [](http://wendy.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://wendy.livejournal.com/)**wendy** takes on the daunting task of herding authors, artists, betas and who knows what else, and the fruits of her labors is always an amazing collection of stories and artwork that blows the mind. Our thanks to Wendy for her efforts. We love participating in this challenge, and we absolutely adore the results! 
> 
> This year's story was inspired by a song, which you can find [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0rZ2CPCYBQ). It may or may not be about the fashion industry, but Leonard Cohen always added nuances and undercurrents to his words. That's why his poetry will go on forever. 
> 
> We'd like to thank our artist, [](http://sandy79.livejournal.com/profile)[**sandy79**](http://sandy79.livejournal.com/) for her artwork. She really came through for us, and the results are soooo beautiful. Go [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19380160) to check it out and sing her praises. 
> 
> We'd also like to thank [](http://jennylynneh.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://jennylynneh.livejournal.com/)**jennylynneh** for stepping up and beta-ing our messy story. Thank you for your help, even though all that studying still needs to be done.


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